Residents of nursing homes and their families are breathing a sigh of relief. With COVID case numbers dropping and with the number of vaccinated rising, the federal government has relaxed restrictions on nursing home visits.
This new guidance paves the way for in-person visits. Facilities are now allowed to permit indoor visitation at all times and for all residents. Even if the visitor or the resident is unvaccinated, visits are permitted.
Health experts recommend that you continue to social distance, wear masks and sanitize hands. But you can hug.
To be even safer, they suggest meeting outdoors, though that might not be possible, depending on the weather or the resident’s health.
Still, there are a handful cases when visitation would be restricted. They are:
If the resident is unvaccinated and they live in a county that has a COVID positivity rate greater than 10 percent and fewer than 70 percent of the residents in their facility are still unvaccinated or if the resident has a confirmed case of COVID-19. This Restriction would remain in place until the resident is no longer infectious.
And finally, If the resident is in quarantine. In that case restrictions would remain in place until that person is released from quarantine.
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