UPMC Offers Coronavirus Precautions For The Elderly, Children

PITTSBURGH, PA - UPMC officials on Monday urged caution when visiting people in long-term or assisted living communities as the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pennsylvania increased to 10.. They also suggested common sense precautions to help prevent children from spreading COVID-19.

Dr. David A. Nace, chief medical officer for UPMC Senior Communities, which serves nearly 3,000 older adults in more than 30 facilities throughout the region, said at a news briefing Monday that UPMC has educated the staff of UPMC’s long-term care and skilled nursing facilities about proper
personal protective equipment to use to safely care for any COVID-19 patients.

He advised family members of those older adults to err on the side of caution when deciding whether to visit them.

“I would like to ask the public not to visit their loved ones in person at long-term care and skilled nursing facilities if they are ill or have cold symptoms, even relatively mild ones,” Nace said. “This will help us avoid accidentally spreading not only COVID-19, but any of the many respiratory viruses currently circulating in our communities to our vulnerable elderly population.”

While some infectious diseases, like flu, can strike children harder than healthy adults, that does not seem to be the case so far with COVID-19, said John Williams, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. He said symptoms seem milder in children, though it's not known whether a larger proportion of children are getting COVID-19 and not being diagnosed because they are asymptomatic.

“What we do know about infectious diseases and children — and suspect is the case with COVID-19 — is that children are very good at sharing infections, particularly when they aren’t feeling very sick and are able to run around and play while infected,” Williams said.

He advised parents and caregivers help slow the spread of infection by having children practice good hand hygiene, teaching them to cover their mouths when sneezing and cough and keeping children home when they are sick.

“Doing these things is not only important for COVID-19, but also for stopping the spread of flu and other respiratory viruses that are circulating in our community,” Williams said. “We appreciate the support of our patients and their families in helping to stop the spread of
these infections.”