Following the publication of England’s Covid-19 response: summer 2021 and the prime minister’s follow-up statement on 12 July, the government has stated that health and care settings in England should continue to maintain appropriate infection prevention and control (IPC) measures.
The chief medical and chief scientific advisers have also stated that “the pandemic is not over and they expect an extremely high prevalence of Covid infections until at least the end of August”.
In a joint statement, the optical sector bodies said they supported the need to maintain robust IPC measures, and that they would continue to monitor updates to public health advice and support NHS England/Improvement (NHSEI) to update the optical standard operating procedure as the situation evolved.
At the current time, optical practices are advised to continue to follow the College of Optometrists’ amber guidance and the NHSEI Optical Standard Operating Procedures.
This means that on 19 July, practices should continue to:
• Follow current IPC guidance, including personal protective equipment
• Ensure social distancing remains in place for optical settings
• Maintain patient triage and prioritisation
• Sanitise frames
• Maintain good ventilation throughout the practice
The joint statement also includes further information on patient use of face coverings and social distancing.
Read the joint statement in full here.