Hi everyone,

A big thank you to all visitors who have adhered to the visiting criteria and have given kind compliments to our staff.
The team has done an exceptional job during this pandemic and we would not have coped without their dedication to your loved ones.

On Monday the Prime Minister announced that New Zealand is staying in level 2 until it is reviewed on June 8, 2020 with the possibility of moving to level 1 after June 22, 2020.
While great gains in eliminating this deadly virus have been made, Linda and I remain concerned that COVID-19 may re-emerge and that if we relax too freely we run the risk of exposing our residents and staff to the virus.
The advice from the Ministry of Health is to stay the course and do our part protecting those most vulnerable.

Although there is still “low risk” of community spread, our residents and staff are still deemed to be at “high risk” of contracting viruses.
Given that the only real change is that social gatherings are now being increased to 100 people, we don’t want to change too much in what we are currently doing.

We have reviewed our procedures and the following will be implemented from Friday May 29, 2020.

Staffing (no change):
Under level 2 there will be a continuation of the internal Level 4 process and procedures we implemented and which are currently in place for all staff.

These include:

• Sanitising, temperature checks and completion of a staff log upon entry
• Adhering to physical distancing where possible

Visits from Family or Friends:
Our visiting procedures have been updated as follows:

• Visiting hours will be extended to include lunchtime, and will now be from 8.30am to 3.30pm daily
• The allocated visit time remains at 30 minutes per visit.
• We will increase the number to two (2) visitors per resident, per visit.
• The maximum number of visitors that will be allowed into the home will be increased to 20 persons at one time, thereafter we will operate on a “one out, one in” basis.
• No visitors under the age of 12, unless prior approval from management.
• Visitors will be asked to complete a visitor log for contact tracing purposes and be given a health check. We do reserve the right to deny entry if you fail our health check.
• Visitors will be held at the front door and health screened by a staff member upon arrival.
• You will be asked to sanitise, have your temperature taken and wear appropriate personal protection equipment (PPE). These items must remain in place for the duration of your visit.
• Visitors must maintain physical distancing of two metres at all times, where possible.
• All visitors must abide by our Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) procedures.
• Goods brought into the facility will be checked and if required sanitised.
• All visitors must follow the directions of staff.

Again, we ask for your patience while we facilitate your entry.
Please let us know if there is anything else we can do for you.

Kind regards,
ALLAN SARGEANT