According to the CDC, people in their 50s are at higher risk for severe illness than people in their 40s. Similarly, people in their 60s or 70s are, in general, at higher risk for severe illness than people in their 50s. The greatest risk for severe illness from COVID-19 is among those aged 85 or older.
Precautions for Nursing Homes and Senior Living Facilities
- If you, a family member, or friend lives in a nursing home, assisted living facility, or other type of senior living facility, you may be concerned about COVID-19.
- To protect friends and family members in these facilities, CDC has advised that long-term care facilities:
- Restrict visitors,
- Require or recommend visitors (including healthcare workers, aides, and staff) wear masks over their nose and mouth, if visitors are allowed,
- Permit visitation only during select hours and limit the number of visitors per resident (e.g., no more than 2 visitors at one time),
- Schedule visitation in advance to enable continued social distancing,
- Restrict visitation to the resident’s room or another designated location at the facility (e.g., outside),
- Regularly check healthcare workers and residents for fevers and symptoms, and
- Limit activities within the facility to keep residents distanced from each other.
How to avoid COVID:
- Wear a mask, when you interact with others.
- Limit your in-person interactions with other people as much as possible, particularly when indoors.
- Keep space between yourself and others (stay 6 feet away, which is about 2 arm lengths).
- Wash your hands often. If soap and water are not readily available, use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands.
- Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or the inside of your elbow. Then wash your hands.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces and things you touch often.
