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The Director-General of Health is hosting a webinar TODAY at 6:30pm on the shift to ‘phase three’ of the Ministry’s response to omicron.
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Questions can be asked via the chat function.
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“All healthcare workers in Urgent Care and General Practice should wear a P2/N95 particulate respirator for all interactions with patients presenting with undifferentiated diagnosis across all phases of the Omicron outbreak.”
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This is in line with our longstanding advice.
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An MoH table covering eye protection, gowns and gloves and is also copied below, along with an MoH email covering N95 fitting (they’ve recognised that fit testing may not always be available), that they should be used continuously for a ‘session’ and, in their view, discarded and replaced after four hours.
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David Gollogly, Jasmine Mackay, Richard Chen, Kelvin Ward
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Pandemic Response Subcommittee
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The Prime Minister is expected to make an announcement about the national shift to Phase Three of the Omicron response today and the Director-General of Health would like to invite you to a Webinar at 6:30pm on Thursday 24 February to outline the changes.
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This session will be for the broader health sector. This will be recorded and shared afterwards for those who are unable to attend.
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Please find the link to the livestream below – recommended browsers are Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari. Please note this link will not work on Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge.
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The update recommends the use of P2/N95 particulate respirators for community HCWs in certain circumstances during Phases 2 and 3 of the public health response to Omicron. The decision to recommend increased use of P2/N95 particulate respirators in Phase 2 supports the preparation for Phase 3.
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The guidance already recommended that in high-risk situations, or when undertaking specific procedures that would put HCWs at risk of COVID-19 infection, P2/N95 particulate respirators should be worn.
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The updated guidance now recommends:
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- All healthcare staff working in Urgent Care and General Practice should wear a P2/N95 particulate respirator for all interactions with patients presenting with undifferentiated diagnosis across all phases of the Omicron outbreak.
- HCWs wear P2/N95 particulate respirators in settings where there are increasing cases (Phase 2) or widespread cases (Phase 3) and both a moderate and higher risk of COVID-19 infection.
A moderate risk of COVID-19 infection includes a person with:
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- COVID-19 related symptoms but not a close contact of a confirmed case OR
- No COVID-19 related symptoms but a close contact OR required to self-isolate.
A higher risk of COVID-19 infection includes a person with:
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- COVID-19 related symptoms and identified by the contact tracing service as a close contact until test results are available (if clear then care as moderate risk)
- Confirmed COVID-19 case during infectious period.
When selecting PPE, the HCW should also consider the local and regional variation for case numbers which may reduce or increase the risk.
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Ordering P2/N95 particulate respirators
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The Ministry’s PPE Portal has been updated to enable community organisations to order P2/N95 particulate respirators – this change should take effect within the next 24 hours. The Ministry will supply 9320D+ and 1870+ models of P2/N95 particulate respirators to community organisations. Both models are very similar in design, have a high fit test success rate and have at least Level 2 Fluid Resistance.
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Please ensure that you place reasonable orders for the volumes you require and with consideration of current delays in the freight network. The Ministry has pre-loaded a range of organisations with P2/N95 particulate respirators. Due to the current volume of email traffic, please only follow up regarding your orders for P2/N95s and other PPE/RATs orders when they have not arrived within a reasonable timeframe, or if you have an identified emergency need such as a facility outbreak.
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Fit testing and checking P2/N95 particulate respirators
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With wider use of P2/N95 particulate respirators now recommended, it is critical HCWs are aware of how to wear them correctly.
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To be most effective, P2/N95 particulate respirators need to have an effective seal to the user’s face and should be fit tested for each user. However, we understand that access to fit testing services may not always be possible. In the absence of fit testing, we recommend that fit checking/user seal checking should be done every time the user puts on a particulate respirator as described by the manufacturers’ instructions. Further guidance here.
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Sessional use of P2/N95 particulate respirators
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Another important reminder for HCWs during this time is that P2/N95 particulate respirators (like medical masks) can be and should be used sessionally. This means HCWs can continue working without needing to remove and replace their respirators every time a new activity is undertaken or completed.
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P2/N95 particulate respirators can be worn for up to four hours at a time, providing they aren’t soiled, wet or damaged. Find out more.
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The use of PPE should always be considered as one of a range of IPC measures that can reduce the risk of infection from COVID-19 when used correctly and in the appropriate context.
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Please distribute this communication to your networks as you feel it’s necessary.
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Infection Prevention and Control team
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