Somerville Lays Out Required Safety Steps For Senior Homes

SOMERVILLE, MA — Mayor Joseph Curtatone and the Somerville Board of Health issued an order this week requiring senior housing facilities to share existing coronavirus safety plans or formally create plans aimed at maximizing the protection of their residents and staff. Management was required to submit plans within 48 hours of receiving the order, which was issued Wednesday.

Each building's plan must comply, at a minimum, with CDC and Massachusetts Department of Public Health guidelines regarding screening of residents, staff and visitors for signs of COVID-19 or other illnesses. The plan must also address other applicable guidance, including steps to reduce the risk of transmission by authorized visitors, such as thorough hand-washing, wearing face coverings and maintaining at least six feet of distance from other people.

All plans will be reviewed and approved by the Somerville Board of Health.

"We have seen how quickly COVID-19 can overtake senior living facilities and the tragic loss of life that can occur," Curtatone said in a statement. "I know that some of these measures, especially restricting visitors, will be hard on residents. But through these temporary sacrifices we hope to save lives."

Buildings can implement additional measures, but at a minimum, each plan must:

• Restrict visitors, to Essential medical providers
• Cancel all group events and activities indefinitely
• Close community and activity rooms indefinitely
• Remove chairs from common areas and other areas that encourage congregating activities
• Provide for frequent, adequate sanitization of high touch areas and common areas, including but not limited to each door knob, handrail, flat surfaces, common areas, and laundry facilities
• Provide 24-hour staffing or monitoring of front door
• No longer allow interior/unit door delivery by non-staff
• All food delivery shall be delivered to residential doors by facility staff
• Require COVID-19 health screening for essential staff
• Provide appropriate requirements for PPE to be worn by residents in common areas and essential staff
• Require that any employee or other staff member who is sick or does not pass the required screening must be immediately sent home and not return to work until feeling better or authorized to return by a physician

Last weekend, residents of the Mt. Pleasant senior apartment complex were placed under a mandatory 14-day quarantine after eight cases of the coronavirus were confirmed at the residence.