Corona in Bavaria: Restrictions on Public Life and Contact Ban
The coronavirus is making the headlines and holds public life in its spell. Munich, our hometown, is no exception. Since 20 March 2020, the new Corona rules are in force in Bavaria, by which everyone is urged to reduce physical and social contact with people outside their household to an absolute minimum. Restaurants and a number of other economic and cultural institutions have been closed. The aim is to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
Contact Ban in Bavaria: Medical Offices Are Excluded
But importantly, visiting medical practices and receiving medical treatment is still explicitly allowed, despite Corona (point 5b of the Bavarian State Ministry of Health and Care’s announcement of 20 March 2020). Therefore, LIPS and SKIN in Munich continues to be open without restriction. The neighbouring cosmetic studio of Ewa Jürgens does fall under the restrictions, however, and will thus remain closed.
How do we protect ourselves and our patients?
Nevertheless, faced with the Covid-19 pandemic, we have, of course, taken numerous special measures to protect ourselves and our patients from Corona in our office. As you may know, dear reader, medical practices are by law subject to very strict hygiene regulations even in normal times. For example, every medical practice must draw up a hygiene plan in which all hygiene-relevant points are listed, and all measures are described in detail by which hygiene standards are maintained in all areas of the medical practice.
Hand Cleaning and Disinfection
The classic example of a precaution to maintain basic hygiene in a medical practice is hand cleaning and disinfection. For this reason, you will find dispensers for handwash and alcohol-based hand disinfection in the visitors’ toilets of every doctor’s practice, along with a request to use them. It is not only in the hygiene plan of LIPS and SKIN Aesthetic Medicine that hand hygiene is given correspondingly high attention.
From Paper Towels to More Frequent Surface Disinfection
You may also have noticed that in guest toilets you almost only find disposable paper towels. This is not only due to the supposed convenience of disposal, as one might assume, nor does it have anything to do with Corona. Rather, it is primarily due to the realization that textile towels do not meet the necessary hygiene requirements at all, and that modern, automatic roller systems do not always do so.
The hygiene plan of LIPS and SKIN also regulates a multitude of other things, from the frequency and type of surface, equipment, and instrument disinfection to the use of sterile disposable products and waste separation and disposal. And this already in “normal” times, when there is no talk of pandemics. Of course, you know that we wear gloves during treatment, even without Corona. That does not need to be mentioned separately.
However, to make our practice even safer in times of a Corona pandemic and to protect ourselves and our patients even better, we have taken the following special measures during Covid-19.
Special COVID-19 Hygiene Rules
As noted in the new supplementary chapter of our hygiene plan, our specific Corona measures are based on 3 central themes:
- Education about and increased awareness of Covid-19
- Strengthening of our hygienic routines
- Elimination of possible sources of corona infection
This includes in particular:
Corona Notice on Our Office Door For Visitors And Patients
With an easy-to-understand notice, we want to inform patients and visitors even before they enter the practice about the simple rules of conduct with which you can contribute to significantly reducing the risk of corona infection for yourself and others.
Don’t shake hands – Cough into the crook of the arm – Wash your hands regularly – Don’t put your hands in your face
Simple but effective measures that can already achieve a great deal.
Hand Disinfection Right After The Entrance
As soon as you have entered the practice and taken off your overgarments, we ask you to disinfect your hands. For this purpose, we have set up an automatic, touch-free dispenser for alcohol-based hand disinfectant (Sterillium Virugard) directly behind the entrance.
Rub a spray dose carefully on the hands and back of the hands for at least 30 seconds. The disinfectant is virucidal and reliably inactivates the coronavirus. If you wish to apply hand cream to your hands after the disinfectant has dried, please ask us. We have appropriate hand creams ready for you.
Regular Surface Disinfection at Neuralgic Hygiene Control Points
During an inspection of the practice and the immediate outdoor facilities, we identified certain hygiene control points that we will henceforth disinfect at least twice a day with virucidal surface disinfectant. These include, in particular, light switches, door handles, glass surfaces, table surfaces, toilet flushes, bathroom sink, etc.
Temporary Discontinuation of Self-Service Offerings
Call us overcautious if you like, but to keep the risk of infection to a minimum, we have also removed all items from the practice that are normally available to you in our visitors’ lounge. This includes the range of magazines and journals on display, or the bottles of mineral water offered for free.
Of course, we are still happy to offer you something to drink. But in a controlled way, i.e., we hand you a glass and take it back directly afterwards.
FFP2 Masks and Face Shields During Treatments
You have certainly heard a lot in the media lately about “protective masks” in connection with Corona. Those that are not available, or others that are about to run out. Still others that you can sew yourself. And the like.
As far as our medical practice is concerned, we have always performed treatments with so-called “surgical masks”. These are masks that are usually worn by surgeons. The aim is to avoid possible infections (via the exhaled air) of the patients. These surgical masks are typically safe, but do not protect very effectively against viral infections.
For the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic in Germany, I will therefore wear FFP2-masks during treatments. Protection against infection is achieved in the best possible way on both the doctor’s and the patient’s side (even if not one hundred percent).
However, infection with the coronavirus can occur not only through the mouth and nose, but especially through the mucous membranes of the eyes. Therefore, during the time of the corona pandemic, I will wear either protective goggles or a so-called “face-shield” while treating you.
Stay safe!
I hope that I have been able to show you with this article how important we take hygiene in general and protection against a coronavirus infection in particular in our practice, and what high value we place on your health.
If you have any further questions on this topic, please do not hesitate to contact me directly or to speak to me at your next visit. I look forward to seeing you. Stay safe!