Table III.

Main strategies to ensure the correct use and availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic

Patients with acute and severe SARS-CoV-2-infection Patients without SARS-CoV-2
Prevention and protection measures in rehabilitation care	Patients with presumed or confirmed COVID-19 should be managed with either droplet or airborne precautions. They should also be placed in isolation. The use of equipment should be considered carefully and discussed with local infection monitoring and prevention service staff before use with patients with COVID-19 to ensure it can be properly decontaminated. In case of equipment, it should be single-patient use and ensure machines can be decontaminated after use. Larger equipment (e.g. mobility aids, ergometers, chairs, tilt tables) must be easily decontaminated.	To avoid crowds in the institutions, all group meetings should be suspended, and only 1 person at a time should use cafeteria spaces. Comprehensive infection and prevention and control programmes are essential underpinnings for every setting where healthcare is provided. They will help ensure that effective processes and activities are in place to prevent or minimize the transmission of COVID-19 within the organization. The use of personal protective equipment and hand hygiene were recommended for patients, caregivers and healthcare providers. Providing individual care, assessing COVID-19 symptoms to determine the possibility of infection, adopting specific actions to perform therapies, social and physical distancing measures, cleaning equipment and devices between each patient interaction, and taking the temperature of patients were recommended.