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Geraldine007 Asked May 1, 2024

During a Covid outbreak are there legal limitations on keeping a positive, wandering patient isolated?

There is a Covid outbreak at my mom’s memory care facility. One of those who tested positive is always difficult and wanders all over the facility most hours-day and night. She is a super-spreader and is exposing the other 50 residents to Covid. Is there some restriction in WA state that prohibits the staff from keeping her isolated?

NeedHelpWithMom May 2, 2024
So sorry to hear this. What has the facility said about this situation?

lealonnie1 May 1, 2024
Its not possible to isolate covid residents inside their rooms in a Memory Care Assisted Living environment. They simply do not understand "stay in your room and don't come out" nor can they be locked in. How do you suggest the staff "keep her isolated"? Your mom is free to stay in her room if she so desires though. Or you can take mom home with you, or just let things play out as they will. My mother lived in Memory Care Assisted Living for the entire run of early covid, 3 years, and never caught it. In fact, nobody in the AL or MC, a total of 125 residents, died of the virus when it was at its strongest. They did wear masks for most of the time, but not all residents did all the time. Again, with dementia at play, it's not possible to force a resident to comply with rules they don't understand or cannot remember. You can report the MC to the Health Dept, but forced compliance with dementia residents is impossible and that's the absolute truth.

Best of luck to you.

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Fawnby May 1, 2024
You need to speak to the director of the facility immediately. It is NOT okay in any universe to allow other residents to be exposed to a deadly disease by an infected patient.

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