A "unimaginable human tragedy" is played in institutions of long term care across Europe, where up to half of the new coronavirus related deaths are registered in certain countries, lamented Thursday the World Health Organization .
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In these establishments, whose functioning he wants to see evolve, the situation is "deeply worrying," said Hans Kluge at a virtual press conference organized from Copenhagen, headquarters of the European branch of WHO. According to estimates by the institution, "up to half of the deaths from Covid-19 were residents of long-term care facilities, " he said. As of April 13, of the 444 deaths recorded in Ireland, 55.2% had been recorded in this type of establishment.
As of April 15, France reported that 49.4% of the dead resided in nursing homes, according to figures communicated by WHO to AFP. According to estimates by Care England, the largest representative British personal assistance organization, up to 7,500 people died in long-term care facilities, five times more than official figures. In Portugal and Spain, the share of deaths in nursing homes is 33% and 53% respectively, according to calculations by the International Long-Term Care Policy Network.
A "terrible ordeal"
For Hans Kluge, "there is an immediate and urgent need to rethink and adapt the operation" of these establishments in the face of the epidemic. These include prioritizing screening, equipping caregivers and organizing special units for patients with Covid-19, even before the first cases appear. In addition, facilities must establish plans to prevent and control infections. Because, underlined Hans Kluge, "even in very old people who are fragile and live with multiple chronic diseases, many have a good chance of recovering if they are well cared for".
Residents of nursing homes are particularly vulnerable to the virus. "Their advanced age, underlying diseases, cognitive challenges related to understanding and following health and hygiene advice due to intellectual disability or dementia, for example, are all factors that are at higher risk, " said Hans Kluge.
Countries must find solutions to protect the elderly and vulnerable without leaving them completely isolated, WHO health emergency manager Michael Ryan said on Wednesday. "There are many, many elderly people living in long-term care facilities who, at best, feel alone, and the past few weeks have been a terrible ordeal for them, at the same time they are even more isolated but they also live with the constant threat of falling potentially ill with this disease, " he added.
It is important that long-term care facilities respond "very quickly" to eradicate the disease at the first sign of infection, emphasizing the need for adequately trained staff. Almost half of the reported cases of Covid-19 worldwide have been recorded in the WHO Europe region, which stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific and includes 53 countries as diverse as Russia and Andorra. 110,000 people died there.