The RE-COV Study findings make essential reading on how the sector mobilised quickly to respond to COVID-19 related deaths in their schemes last year, especially when much of the spotlight was on the crisis in care homes at that time.

• Download the Executive Summary

The RE-COV Study reveals:

• The overall lower than expected proportion of RE-COV survey participants’ residents who died from COVID-19 in comparison to people with the same age profile living in the general population in England.
• The positive effects of the lengths that operators and staff took to help support residents’ activities of daily living, social engagement, community and personal activities.

Some of the measures adopted in Retirement Village and Extra Care Housing that operators felt were the most effective in protecting their residents and staff during the pandemic were found to be:

• Closing communal facilities, suspending activities or restricting residents’ access to areas.
• The issuing of full Personal Protective Equipment and its correct use.
• Restricting and closing Retirement Villages and Extra Care Housing to visitors and family when necessary.
• Regular and increased cleaning.
• The design and external and internal layout of schemes, plus the self-contained nature of individual apartments, enabled residents to isolate and keep their distance

Read in full at Source: Research project published today highlights how housing-with-care sector’s response to coronavirus pandemic “safeguarded lives” of residents and staff – Housing LIN