On Thursday, New York State released new guidance regarding nursing home visitations. The state will now allow visitation at all times and for all residents regardless of vaccination status, with a few caveats.
Visitation will be limited for unvaccinated residents if the county where the facility is located has a COVID-19 positivity rate greater than 10 percent and less than 70 percent of the facility's residents are fully vaccinated.
Residents with COVID-19 or quarantined due to exposure, even if vaccinated, cannot have visitors until they meet the requirements to be released from quarantine or isolation.
The state says if nursing homes follow appropriate precautions and isolate cases to one part of the facility, they can also still have visitors during an outbreak. The state considers a situation an "outbreak" when there is a new case among staff or residents.
The state also says that outdoor visitation is preferred even if both the resident and visitor are fully vaccinated.
Being fully vaccinated means it has been two weeks since the second shot of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one week since the single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
There are many precautions both nursing homes and visitors will have to follow upon entry. Masks will be required and a health screening will take place.
Visitors that are unable to meet the standards should be asked to leave according to the state health department.
The updated guidance also states that "facilities should consider how the number of visitors per resident at one time and the total number of visitors in the facility at one time may affect the ability to maintain the core principles of infection prevention."
Compassionate care and "end of life" visits will also be allowed at all times regardless of the COVID situation.