COVID-19 in the community

The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease) a pandemic on 11 March 2020 (WHO, 2020). This triggered a series of responses from political leaders the world over to curb the spread of the infection, so that everyone—but, most importantly, health services—can cope with what is to come, and lives can be saved.

Nurses in the UK have been warned that dealing with the pandemic may require them to be more flexible in terms of their practice: many in academia or who have retired may be requested to engage in clinical work once more. For community and district nurses, this may not be a difficult task, as they already have a range of skills and are used to improvising and adapting. However, it could mean refreshing competencies or developing new ones to be able to work in acute care and deal with a highly infectious disease.