Following an increase in infections in several nursing homes in Oslo in June, the nursing home division in the capital has again introduced a requirement to use facemask in some nursing homes.
In June, infection was detected in employees in connection with twelve of the nursing homes. During the weekend, seven employees in the nursing home were diagnosed with the infection.
The municipality therefore reintroduced the use of facemask in nursing homes with sheltered wards after the increase in infection, writes VG.
– This is a precautionary measure. Not many residents are infected, but we are introducing measures that worked for us most recently, says Helge Jagmann, Director of the Norwegian State Nursing Home.
In April, the municipality introduced the use of facemask as the figures showed that 70 per cent of infected residents were in sheltered wards. This caused the infection to be reduced in May.
It was then up to the individual nursing homes whether employees should use facemasks or not, but now there has been an increase in infection.
There are no national guidelines or advice on the use of facemask in nursing homes, but Jagmann believes the municipality has had positive experience from such use.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
Who/where in Norway sells the simple “cloth masks” that our Center for Disease Control recommends and says is actually better than some of the valve types?
They should be cheap/billig, washable, and 5 in a pack.