UDINE. Hugging loved ones again, in the true sense of the word. And without plastic sheets to act as a filter. In the document, attached to the ordinance signed on Saturday 8 May by the Minister of Health, the possibility of physical contact between the guest of an RSA and the visiting relative returns. In time for Mother’s Day and before the protest announced by the relatives’ committees: they were ready to show up anyway this morning in front of the residential facilities to deliver red roses to mothers and grandmothers. And then go and file a kidnapping complaint. It wasn’t necessary. “We must keep the utmost attention and respect the protocols, but we share the joy of those who will finally be able to see their loved ones again, after the distance necessary to protect them,” said Speranza.
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That with this measure aims to put order in the chaos of visits to the RSA, so far authorized and managed according to the provisions of the health directors of the structures, with different situations in the same region. Finally, a vademecum arrives from the ministry, which takes up the guidelines proposed in recent days by the Conference of the Regions, then examined and integrated by the experts of the Technical-Scientific Committee. The ordinance is immediately in force and will remain so until 30 July.
You need the green certificate. Stop if there is the red zone
Entry into residential health care or rehabilitation and long-term care facilities is allowed only to relatives and visitors with the Covid-19 green certificate. The same that the government has launched to allow travel to and from orange or red regions. Or for participation in specific sporting or cultural events. To enter an RSA, you must present a certificate of vaccination or recovery from the disease in the last 6 months, or the negative report of a swab carried out in the 48 hours prior to the visit. The health management of the structure may, in any case, set specific limitations, in the presence of a positive case or a Covid outbreak within the structure, or due to a high epidemiological risk at the territorial level (example: declaration of the ” red zone “in the municipality where the RSA is located or where visiting relatives live)
Schedules to be programmed. Maximum two people
You cannot present yourself at the property at your own discretion. Each visit must be planned in advance, making an appointment, with the aim of distributing the entrances throughout the day and thus avoiding gatherings: “Access must concern no more than two visitors per guest and for a defined duration”, reads in the ordinance. In specific situations, from a clinical or psychological point of view (example: patients at the end of life or severe depression), a longer visit time and alternation of more visitors for the same guest may be allowed. At the entrance, temperature measurement with a thermoscanner and hand sanitization, it is mandatory to wear a mask (at least FFp2 or higher). Then, as far as possible, “distinct access and exit routes for family members / visitors” should be ensured with respect to the spaces dedicated to the visit.
Better in outdoor spaces or in dedicated rooms
If the health conditions of the guest allow it, in case of favorable weather and climate, it is recommended to favor “outdoor meetings”, perhaps in gardens, courtyards or terraces. Inside, on the other hand, each structure must identify rooms dedicated exclusively to visits: «suitable, large and airy spaces», therefore with windows as open as possible and air conditioning systems without air recirculation. Whether inside or outside, an adequate distancing must always be guaranteed between different family groups, also for a matter of confidentiality, and that (at least one meter) between non-cohabiting visitors. At the end of each visit, the room in question must be properly sanitized. Only in the presence of particular psycho-physical conditions (for example: patient bedridden and difficult to transfer) the visit can take place in the guest’s room, but the transit of visitors in the “hospital unit” must be an exception.
Contact allowed for emotional needs
After many months of video calls, remote meetings or hugs filtered by a plastic sheet, the ordinance expressly provides for the possibility of physical contact between the RSA guest and the visiting relative. “It can be allowed in case of particular conditions of relational / emotional needs”, the text of the provision reads, provided that the first is vaccinated (90 percent of patients are now vaccinated) or recovered from Covid in the last six months and the second in possession of the Green Certificate Covid-19. It will be up to the staff of the structure, in charge of managing the visits, to evaluate the opportunity of a hug or a caress, based on the psycho-physical conditions of the guest. However, it is unlikely that the elderly person in question will be able to hug his grandchild to him, because “access to facilities is not recommended for children under the age of 6, for whom it is not possible to guarantee compliance with the preventive measures provided”.
Sharing of risks: an agreement with the structure
Upon entry, each visitor is registered and his / her personal data kept for at least two weeks. Furthermore, he is asked to sign a “Risk Sharing Pact”, an information document that illustrates the anti-Covid prevention and security measures within the structure and the organizational decisions taken to contain the risk of contagion. . But it is also a commitment by the visitor to respect the rules during the stay in the RSA and after returning home: the goal is to create virtuous “social bubbles”, including regular visitors and other subjects. that the guest can attend during the scheduled outings. Returns to the family for short periods are governed by specific regulations, assessed on the basis of the person’s clinical stability, and facilitated by the completion of the vaccination cycle.
Entry based on vaccination status
For new guests, who enter the residential facility for the first time, the insertion path varies based on vaccination status. Those who have completed the cycle with the first and second dose for at least 14 days or have recovered from Covid for less than six months can access without limitations. Those who have only received the first dose of the vaccine are welcomed without restrictions, but with a control pad upon arrival and with the programming of the second dose. Those who are not vaccinated and have never fallen ill with Covid, as soon as they arrive must do a 10-day quarantine, undergo a swab at the beginning and at the end of the period, and obviously quickly schedule the first injection. During the insertion phase, maximum attention is paid to contact with any other unvaccinated guests (by choice or by contraindications related to previous pathologies).
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