Corona: Hospital nurse
23 April, 2020
Question:I am a mikveh attendant and have received a request from a nurse who has worked in a hospital with COVID positive patients. Her last exposure was 2 days ago and she requests her appointment to be in 2 days. She uses personal protection at her job and has no symptoms of infection. Our mikveh is not a very busy one. We average one woman a day. I have been following the protocols on this website as well as those listed on mikvah.org. I test our water daily. Is it safe to have her use our mikveh?
Answer:In this case, it is safe to allow the nurse exposed to COVID-positive patients to use your mikveh, since she uses personal protection at work. As an additional precaution, she should take her temperature and check for any symptoms prior to arrival.
As an extra safety measure to prevent any potential asymptomatic spread, we recommend setting an appointment for her to be last on a given night, when no one else will be present, even in other preparation rooms.
Assuming your community does not yet have specific mikveh protocols for Corona, you may want to consult with your rabbi and local authorities about establishing them.
Kol hakavod on your efforts to keep women safe!
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