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LAST UPDATE | 28 Mar 2020
AS PART OF further restrictions to stem the spread of Covid-19 in Ireland, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that ‘Cocooning’ will be introduced for those over 70 and people who are extremely vulnerable to the disease.
The announcement comes after a further 302 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in the Republic of Ireland, bringing the total here to 2,121.
But what exactly does this mean for those affected?
According to guidelines published this evening by the HSE, cocooning is intended for use in situations where an extremely medically vulnerable person is living in their own home, with or without additional support or in long-term residential facilities.
It’s essentially a measure to protect people who are over 70 years of age or those who are extremely medically vulnerable by minimising all interaction between them and others.
What does ‘cocooning’ involve?
Essentially, staying at home at all times and avoiding face-to-face contact for two weeks from today.
This includes:
Visits are permitted from people who provide essential support to a person cocooning including healthcare and personal support for daily needs.
Carers and careworkers, however, must stay away if they show any symptoms of Covid-19.
As is standard in most Irish households right now, people entering must wash their hands for at least 20 seconds after they arrive.
The HSE also advises a person cocooning to have an alternative list of people who can help them with their care if their primary carer becomes unwell.
Who needs to cocoon?
The HSE identifies extremely medically vulnerable people as:
The HSE advises that anyone who is unsure whether or not they fall into one of these categories to contact their GP to discuss.
Cooking, cleaning, bathroom breaks – what if someone else is living with a person cocooning?
Others living with a person cocooning are not required to adopt these measures themselves but should do what they can to support a person cocooning and stringently follow social distsancing measures and reduce their contact outside of the home.
For the person who is cocooning, they should stay away from other people in their home in a well-ventilated room with a window to the outside that you can open.
If a person who is cocooning has go into the same room with other people at home they should try to keep at least 1 metre (3 ft) and where possible 2 metres away from them.
The person cocooning also should clean their hands regularly and practice good respiratory etiquette.
If they can, use a toilet and bathroom that no one else in the house uses. If you can’t have your own toilet and bathroom, the toilet and bathroom you use needs to be kept clean.
Make sure you use separate towels from the other people in your house, both for drying themselves after showering and for hand-hygiene purposes.
And if you share a kitchen with others, avoid using it while they’re there. If you can, you should take your meals back to your room to eat.
If you have one, use a dishwasher to clean and dry the family’s used crockery and cutlery. If that’s not possible then wash them using your usual washing-up liquid and warm water and dry them thoroughly. Do not share cutlery and utensils.
The HSE advises that when using your own utensils, remember to use a separate tea towel for drying these and to clean all surfaces every day with a cleaning product.
And how does a person cocooning get food and medicine?
Well, family, friends and neighbours can support a person cocooning once everyone has adhered to the above guidelines.
If it’s not possible for family and friends to help out, the government is currently putting in place assistance through local authorities to help people who are cocooning with each local authority due to publish contact details in the coming days.
ALONE is also providing a telephone support line, seven days a week from 8am – 8pm, for all older people and their families.
What about medical appointments?
The HSE advises everyone cocooning to access medical assistance remotely, wherever possible.
However, if a person has a scheduled hospital or other medical appointment during this period, talk to your GP or specialist to ensure you continue to receive the care you need and determine which of these are absolutely essential.
“It is possible that your hospital may need to cancel or postpone some clinics and appointments. You should contact your hospital or clinic to confirm appointments,” the HSE says.
What about visitors and those caring for people cocooning?
Contacting these people to let them know your situation is key.
It’s important to get in touch with regular family visitors and friends to let them know you are cocooning and that they should not visit you unless they’re providing essential care like washing, dressing or feeding.
The same advice applies if a person who needs to cocoon is being assisted by a local authority or a care provider.
If a family member or friends provides essential care then it’s important to speak with them about precautions (outlined above) they can take.
Informal carers are advised to provide only essential care during this time and to follow hygiene guidelines like washing hands for at least 20 seconds upon arrival, to avoid touching their face and to cover their mouth and nose with a sleeve or tissue when coughing or sneezing.
If the person providing care is unwell, make alternative arrangements.
If I am cocooning, how do I look after my mental health?
The HSE stresses than a person cocooning can still pick up the phone to call a friend or family member during this time and to remain mobile.
If a person cocooning has a garden or backyard, going out and getting fresh air can help but remember to keep your distance from neighbours.
Opening the windows and letting in fresh air will also help.
Cooking? Reading? Hobbies? TV? Radio? They’ll all help you through this time and help stave off loneliness and boredom.
In addition, try eat healthy, balanced meals, drink water and, if you can, exercise regularly and avoid the cigarettes and alcohol.
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An Taoiseach did NOT say “do not go out for shopping”. We would starve otherwise!! You could cause widespread panic with that comment. Please change!!
@DeeM: This article is specifically for people cocooning though. He said people can go shopping but people cocooning is a different set of rule. You exclamation marks are causing more panic.
@DeeM: if a person is cocooning they can not go out for shopping. I leave the shopping in my vulnerable family members garden, another member of the family that has also been staying at home with them removes the packaging if they can and sprays and wipe all the food down before bringing it into the house. Shoes and coats dont enter the main part of the house and are removed in porch.
@Caoimhín: Exactly! ‘Healthy’ people can go to the shop for essentials but the elderly and medically vulnerable people must make alternative arrangements. They must not leave the house.
@Caoimhín: you misunderstood, this is for the over 70s and vulnerable
@DeeM: it’s for people over 70 and it’s part of the guidelines
@Caoimhín: Fair enough.. Misunderstood!! Duh!!
@Caoimhín: I didn’t put that many exclamation marks did I? Recognised I misread the headline too… Oops! Sorry!!
@DeeM:
Wow! That’s a first….someone conceding they made a mistake.
I’d give you 10 upticks if they’d let me :)
@brendan fitzsimons: So kind thanks!! Stay safe everyone.. Look after the elderly and vulnerable people in your lives as best you can. Its going to be a hard road ahead but we’ll get through this.
@Keelin Connolly: t
@Keelin Connolly: thats great i am one of those people but so is my daughter so there is no one who can get my groceries what do i do in those circumstances
@Nell foran: contact your local gaa club or garda station if you have no one else, many round the country are helping out. Otherwise try to put a list of at least three other people who could help, doesn’t have to be family, that way if one gets sick you have two in backup
@Nell foran: Seen loads of pics on social media yesterday of Guards doing shopping for older/vulnerable people. The commissioner said earlier if you need help call the local station and they will organise it for you.
@Nell foran: I am also one of those people told I cannot leave the house, by order of my specialists and now the government. Today, I got a delivery from my local supermarket. They left it outside the back door. My friend called with other essentials, again they left it outside the back door while I waved at her through the window. I understand it’s difficult however, I am more susceptible to getting the virus as I have a low immune system. I’m am staying in in order to not get sick and more than likely need hospital treatment and also to not pass it on if i was asymptomatic for a few days. We all have to do our bit as much as we can.
How am I supposed to cocoon, I do fall into the at risk category, I have 3 year old twins to take care of, and a husband who is supposed to go to work because its deemed essential, eventough the company makes knees and hips and all non essential surgeries such as knee replacement surgery, has been cancelled,?
@annmarie: if you need to self isolate, which it sounds like you do, your husband should be entitled to some form of statutory leave such as parental leave. You can find some info here, https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/employment/employment_rights_during_covid19_restrictions.html#l428e5
@COYBIG: I feel for you, I really do. But can’t your husband get groceries on the way home from work? If he’s not living with, can’t someone else? If you’re vulnerable, you shouldn’t be putting yourself at risk, for your own sake and your children’s
@annmarie: your husband will definitely be able to get time off due to this
My wife and I feel a lot safer now. We have already been cocooning for the last two weeks. Family gets the shopping for us. You can only catch the virus from someone else so if you isolate and cocoon you should be safe.
@John Cassin: So long as the virus isn’t on the shopping
Look after your elderly relatives and neighbours and anyone who has to stay in. This will be a combined effort to keep us all safe.
Just want to say
You guys are great supporting each other here in the comments.. Keep it up and stay safe
I am minding my mother with dementia who is 80 , up to now just leaving the house for shopping do I now have to try and get the shopping delivered obviously this is all new to me
@Oliver Mahon: difficult situation Oliver with caring for an elderly parent but yes it’s best and advised now to avoid all physical contact.
@Oliver Mahon: best to do that I’d say Oliver. Keep safe you and your mother.
@Oliver Mahon: no, you can shop for both of you if you’re not ill. If you are, call someone to help. At worst, call the Gardaí!! A lot of us need help, but more are willing to help, whether it’s medicine or groceries, anyone under 70 and not in the category of ‘vulnerable’ can get these for you.
@Caddyshack: I do that sit six feet away from her at all times , separate bathrooms but I have to cook for her etc and just be there for her impossible situation, as she is not capable of the normal day to day stuff, but still coherent enough in other ways
@Oliver Mahon: I look after my dad…hes blind and has many of the underlined conditions…he hasn’t been out in public for 2 weeks…we have been spending the time out in his garden. I live 10 minutes from him…I’m taking every possible precaution to keep him well..and look after my own family…I havnt been in contact with anyone…keeping my distance…its very hard and scarey…
Could u take “do I have to do it” out of the headline.
I’m all for it, at the end I’m turning in to a butterfly and bůggering off.
Hi. What about a child’s access to the other parent. Do they still go
@Edel Mc Nulty: In the UK they have said that this is allowed during their lockdown
@Edel Mc Nulty: be sensible. if both parents are isolating and neither is vulnerable then they’re is no increased risk by a child going between two isolating households. On the other hand plenty of vulnerable or at risk people and people with symptoms are attempting to isolate from their own children WITHIN houses to avoid spreading this virus. So there may be reasons, perhaps temporary, that it’s not in someone’s medical interest that a child visit.
It’s important though that children get to maintain relationships and support networks during this time so if there is a reason the child can’t visit a parent then plenty of facetime/ phone calls etc and re- establishment of a normal routine as soon as possible.
How are over 70’s with no kids or support supposed to shop for food ? This is too harsh and not possible . Why not institute an hour where only the over 70’s can go out of the houses and shop while we stay at home ?
With food deliveries taking so many days and those over 70 not using the internet this is a bad measure.
@Isabel Oliveira: there are volunteers all over the country offering help. They are coordinated by Covid Community Response. There is a phone number on their webpage.
@Sam Rhodes: i know but it makes me uneasy to lock the elderly at home two weeks straight . It would be more humane to give them 2 hours each day in which they can go for their walk and shopping . Loneliness, lack of exercise and sun can be very harmful for the elderly. The sacrifice should be on us to stay home between say 10 and 12 every day . It would be fairer .
@Isabel Oliveira: phone A L O N E, a charity,set up to support in this situation. Also, your community nurse. Your priest or church leader should be able to organise. All else fails, call the Garda, (police)
@Sam Rhodes, Isabel may not be handy withe internet. Why not go the extra mile and include the phone no.
If you have a touch of another cold/flu, don’t power through it. You don’t want to be fighting a couple of things when you catch this.
I’m in the vulnerable category. How can I pay for shopping if they don’t want to accept cash and I don’t want to give my card & pin to someone I don’t know?
@Deirdre Mitchell: you can use Tesco click and collect you can pay by card online and have someone collect it. It’s the only solution I can think of.
@Deirdre Mitchell: contactless payment? The limit will be €50 from April 1st.
@Deirdre Mitchell: although no slots available in my tesco for next 4 weeks
What if you are a Healthcare worker and you fall into one of those categories? Do we not go to work?
@Aoife Leighton: See the little clause – *or any essential/key worker advice should be sought from Occupational Health who can give specific advice on individual conditions.https://t.co/8BvWb5ruQg
So they may be told to go to work.
What do people do who have to cocoon but have no one to help get their groceries etc.
Who do you contact
@Nell foran: go to covidcommunityresponse.ie. There’s a number to text and you’ll be put in touch with volunteers in your area
@Nell foran: google Covid Community Resoonse. There’s a website with a number to text and you’ll be put in touch with volunteers in your area
New York is very short on ventilators. If we have any spares we need to fly them over asap. Don’t we make them here? Can we build excess ventilators anyone? We need to build on mass and send them where that are needed. Can we increase the number we make by upscaling production asap? Anyone know anything about ventilators in Ireland?
@Imagine !: According to Trump, they are making plenty . So that’s that sorted . Likewise England refused the EU help so must be ok. We will need what we can make here , ICU beds filling fast .
@Imagine !: we will need every ventilator we can get our hands on and then some….like Italy the time is going to come when nurses and doctors will have to make the choice of who gets the ventilator and who dies. Most countries even western countries are not ready or capable of handling what’s about to come
@Imagine !: have a look at Open Source ventilators on google. Massive progress being made in and open source cheap ventilator. As regards ventilators in Ireland we make 50% of the worlds total output.
@Bríd Uí Mhaoluala: So you listen to the village idiot from the country that has more live cases on a daily basis and more people dying daily now. Starting a sentence with trump said…… Well it leads to sarcasm at best if not outright abuse. Boris “I shook everybody’s hand” Johnson is another oddball
@Gary Kearney:
“Ireland we make 50% of the worlds total output.”
Yes, I’ve read that too…I think the problem is support systems; intubement and other specialist operations need qualified personnel.
@Imagine !: look up @AaronDHannon on Twitter. He’s designing ventilators for those countries that desperately need them. The design drawings are nearly finished. He has some go fund me page as he wanted to raise money quickly.
@Gary Kearney: We don’t make 50% of the worlds ventilators. Hamilton (America) produce 15,000 annually while a chinese company produces 3000 per month. Medtronic in galway produced 250 per month before the crisis raising to 500 per month now. There are about 5 more major producers around the world so no way we cpuld be producing 50%
And are HCW who are vulnerable under the list going to be made work? See the little clause – *or any essential/key worker advice should be sought from Occupational Health who can give specific advice on individual conditions.https://t.co/8BvWb5ruQg
What if your 80 year-old rebellious father says that this is a load of rubbish and he will be going out anyway? How likely is it that the Guards will do anything about it if he goes out regardless?
@Kevin Murphy: Maybe do his shopping for him anyway, whether he likes it or not. That will give him 1 less excuse to go out. When/if the situation gets worse and people he knows are on ventilators he might cop on.
Having a child with special needs and a partner who works in a supermarket.
How on earth do I keep her well, what about retail workers, they must be at risk to bringing it back to their families.
I’m on immunosuppressants. How do i know if its “sufficient to significantly increase risk of infection”? Its a bit vague and it’s hard getting anyone to answer the phone. I’m due back in work Monday and I’m panicking a bit if I’m honest.
@Ben Dunne: same here!
I am a Healthcare Worker but also an informal carer for my parents.. anyone know what this would mean for me?
My wife has a heart condition and is waiting to have a stent put in . Though is only in her fifties and still works full time in her office at home .Does she fall into the cocooning category ?
@christopher banahan: if she’s waiting for a stent yes . Please keep her home as much as she can , unless she’s already taking anti coagulants as a precaution while waiting . It depends how severe it is but ring the GP for advice inclusively it may be of benefit for her to walk gently . Ask her GP ASAP.
Contactless payment with BOI is currently in use:
Big relief, all along it was said that diabetes was in the high risk tocse its not means at least shopping and exercise is still on…
This exposes a big gap in modernisation: while it’s very hard to get groceries delivered these days, except from someone helping you out, in Ireland it’s not legally permitted to deliver medicines by post at all.
This is anomalous, as most other European countries permit and regulate this. So if you don’t have someone to go to the pharmacy for you, you better not need any prescriptions.
And even you have someone, you could reduce the number of people going to pharmacies, waiting in queues etc., if this were in place.
That means you can pay up to €50 contactless with BOI.
I don’t know about the other banks.
The in laws are over 70and can’t get internet delivery as all the slots are booked for weeks
@ed w:
You get the list and do the booking a nd the delivery is made by Tesco to them
My partner is being forced to work and should be cocooning – Does anyone know if this is legal .?? Thanks
@Ed W Couple of things you could do. If you get up at around 5 am with the order ready to go, you may get a slot. . Bear in mind it will be about 2-3 weeks ahead. Do this every week. You can make changes neared to the time
@Ed W : Couple of things you could do. If you get up at around 5 am with the order ready to go, you may get a slot. . Bear in mind it will be about 2-3 weeks ahead. Do this every week. You can make changes neared to the time
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