Should home care workers wear a face mask at their client's homes during the COVID-19 pandemic?

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Should home care workers wear a face mask at their client's homes during the COVID-19 pandemic?

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Their home their rules. All they need to do, and I would do it in writing, is to tell the woman in charge that they are allowing you to talk for them. You could type up something and have them both sign.

I like Tothill's answer. Provide masks and tell them they need to wear them.

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My mother has an RN visit each week. I asked if she would wear a mask while treating my mother. This was at the start of the pandemic. No problem with nurse wearing a mask. I put a mask on my mother while she is being treated. I would asked the home health workers to wear a mask, it is in the best interest of your parents safety.

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"This was at the start of the pandemic."

You've been very wise. It is so sad thinking that just people who were extra careful and made sure to use their individual common sense from the very beginning instead of relying on WHO's and governments' suggestions (remember? "Masks only protect others, you don't need a mask, only doctors need one") have effectively protected themselves ( and others!) and perhaps saved many lives without knowing it.

How many more lives could have been saved if they told us the truth instead? ("Folks, masks will save your lives but we don't have enough, we need them for doctors and nurses")If they blocked the sale of masks for the general public, many more people would have stayed at home to feel safer. Or at least, they would have had that choice.

I remember reading an article in early March about the exact dynamics of COVID contagion on a bus in China. The article said the only person who didn't get contaged was wearing an N95 mask. Others who weren't wearing a mask, including people sitting at 8 meters(!) from the person who was already ill, got all contaged, then spread it to others.

This article was a game changer for me. I tried to tell as many people as I could, but you all know the rest of the story.

I still feel extremely sad about this. Talking about lack of transparency.

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The official information here in OZ is that masks prevent the wearer from spreading germs if they have them. It takes much more complex masks to assist the wearer from catching germs in the air – eg like the industrial masks that protect workers from dust. For me, that would mean that parents who have been isolated for some time don’t need to wear a mask, though it might make them less likely to touch their faces. Workers need to wear one if there is a real likelihood that they may be infected. This probably depends on how prevalent the virus is in your area. And of course if workers have symptoms, they shouldn’t be working in your house.

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If your parents are able to talk with you, the POA can't keep you from speaking to the Home health aides. And I think talking to the POA is not an options for you, either? Is this a sibling?
Hope you find your answers but I think it should be mandatory and your parents are at risk. Just my opinion. Keep looking into it.
take care

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If your state has not mandated that home support workers wear PPE while on site, the best you can do is provide masks in your parents home with a sign requesting that all visitors wear a mask.

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I agree with Tothill.

At home, I'm asking people who come in to wear masks (I provide disposable masks if they don't have one), to wipe off their shoes in my improvised foot bath and spray their hands with alcohol. I say it nicely like "I know it may be an inconvenience but I hope you understand that we have vulnerable elderly people in the house."

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Are your parents wearing masks?

If you prefer that the workers wear masks, tell them. If they won’t, you can relieve them of their services.

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My parents aren't wearing masks, but they've been at home for this entire pandemic so far. Should they be wearing them? Then they'd have to wear them for 8 to 9 hours a day, 7 days a week. I'm not sure if wearing them for those long periods may have a negative impact on their health at their ages, especially since my dad has had some heart issues and has fainted. I'd have to get the OK from his cardiologist.

I cannot request that the workers do anything, no matter how nicely I ask. They will not answer to me, even though my parents want me to be fully involved. I do not think that I can relieve them of their duties, since I'm not the POA.

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Yes they should, especially if your parents are in a high-risk group. You don't mention their age, but assuming they are north of 70, which means they are higher-risk. If they have any underlying conditions (immune compromised, diabetes, cancer, copd, etc.) they are very high risk. If the workers are from an agency or the county they need to be reported.

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Why do the workers need to be reported? The OP says there’s no mask requirement for home care workers where they live.

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Should home care workers wear a face mask at their client's homes during the COVID-19 pandemic?

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