What
SNFs
must
do

May 28, 2020 -- In an excellent article, Asymptomatic Transmission, the Achilles' Heel of Current Strategies to Control Covid-19, the venerable New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) offers a strategy for SNFs to combat the Covid-19 pandemic that's killing their residents:

  • Expand Covid-19 testing to include asymptomatic persons residing or working in SNFs.
  • Isolate infected residents and care for them appropriately.
  • Quarantine exposed residents to minimize the risk of spread.
  • Cohort residents and resume some group activities in nonoutbreak settings.
  • Do routine Rt-PCR testing (Information on Rapid Molecular Assays, RT-PCR, and other Molecular Assays for Diagnosis of Influenza Virus Infection) in addition to symptomatic screening of new residents before entry.
  • Apply conservative guidelines for discontinuation of isolation.
  • Periodically re-test long-term residents.
  • Periodically rRT-PCR screen and surgically mask all staff.
  • Extend these recommendations to all US-based SNFs.

These are excellent recommendations. What are the chances that they will be implemented as legislation? I'm not holding my breath.

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