In dealing with an ill resident, maintenance and repairs within homes also need to be taken into consideration. Non-essential maintenance or service within a home should be avoided to prevent inadvertent spread of infection.
The HUD guidelines indicate that where immediate maintenance or repair is required within a home, maintenance staff or contractors may ask whether any resident in the home has contracted the disease. Persons who do not feel safe entering a home cannot be required to do so. However, if maintenance or repair is necessary to protect health or safety, the staff or contractor should take appropriate protective measures when entering the home, including utilizing personal protection equipment and following public health and CDC recommendations.
We do not believe that any special notice besides warning the virus has been reported is required in the unfortunate case of a death. It is important to notify residents of an occurrence of the illness so that they may take recommended precautions, but the precautions to be taken by other residents do not change because an ill person has died. Where an association routinely announces resident deaths in order to share its condolences, we suggest that the association suspend that practice to avoid giving an impression, possibly incorrect, that all recent deaths are due to the virus and thereby spread further anxiety.