WALLINGFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — As the state Health Department restricts visitors to nursing homes amid coronavirus spread concerns, Mosonicare centers are taking precautions to teach their nurses and elderly residents how to stay safe from the spread of COVID19.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health announced Monday evening, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in healthcare facilities across the state, all visitors are to be restricted effective immediately, especially in Chronic and Convalescent Nursing homes. The exception, they say, is hospice facilities.

According to Health officials, individuals over the age of 60 are twice-as-likely as individuals under 60 to suffer serious illness after contracting the coronavirus.

Infection Control teams made the rounds at Masonicare in Wallingford to teach staff how to teach their residents best practices to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

“Please turn the sink on to a lukewarm temperature,” Sierra Drevline told nurse Karen Lestage at Masonicare in Wallingford. “You’re going to scrub for about twenty seconds in between all the fingers underneath all the nails,” explained Drevline who is the Director of Quality and Special Programs.

They are reminding staff and the 1,200 residents – most of whom are over the age of 60 – of the proper way to wash hands and use hand sanitizer.

Policies and procedures already in place like turning off the sink with a paper towel and removing gloves so they end up inside out.

The hope is they stay ahead of the coronavirus.

“Old people have a lot of medical comorbidities and a lot of underlying illnesses which make them more susceptible to infections,” said Dr. Ronald Schwartz, MD, Masonicare’s Medical Director.

“All of those pieces really help prevent it from actually getting to us,” said JP Venoit, President & CEO of Masonicare.

The team is also putting up posters around the facility for staff, residents, and visitors. They’re both in Spanish and English and remind people of the dangers of COVID-19 and how to stop it from spreading.

High touch areas are being cleaned even more and a recently formed task force is preparing for many scenarios like if a staff member gets sick.

As of Monday, two out-of-state healthcare workers working in Connecticut have been diagnosed with COVID19. Additionally, Governor Lamont announced Monday two Connecticut residents are now considered to have presumptive positive coronavirus cases.

READ: DPH release restricting nursing home visitors