Ritual Impurity of Kohanim in a Nursing Home

To the honorable Rabbi shlita,

A kohen works in a nursing home, and sometimes one of the residents passes away while he is in the building.

Must he immediately leave the entire building because of tumat ohel, even when the deceased is in a closed room and the doors are closed? Does the rule of sof tumah latzet apply in this case? And does moving to another floor help, or must he leave the entire building?

Thank you very much.

Shalom u’vrachah 

In most cases, the kohen must leave the building entirely. 

Due to the rule of sof tumah latzet, all passageways through which the deceased is destined to be taken are already ritually impure now. Therefore, even if the room is currently closed, the impurity extends outward into the passageways. 

Stairwells: if they are connected to the passageways through which the deceased is expected to pass, they are ritually impure. If they are separated by closed doors, they are pure. 

Other floors in the building: if they are separated by closed doors, they are pure. But if the doors are open, their status is like that of the floor where the deceased is located.

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