ROANOKE, Va. – For the first time in months, federal health officials are easing COVID-19 restrictions for nursing homes and long-term care facilities in their latest guidelines that say it is OK to allow indoor visits.
Officials say moving forward, they are recommending indoor visits at all times, regardless of people’s vaccination status. This allows thousands of families torn apart by the pandemic to reunite for the first time without barriers.
“I think we’re all looking forward to opening up doors when it’s safe,” said Dr. Cynthia Morrow, Director of the Roanoke-Alleghany Health District.
There are currently 4 outbreaks at area facilities that have resulted in five deaths, according to the Virginia Department of Health.
Under the new guidance, the CDC and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services say visits are limited for:
- Unvaccinated residents, if the COVID-19 county positivity rate is greater than 10%
- Unvaccinated residents if less than 70% of residents in the facility are fully vaccinated
- Residents with COVID-19
- Residents in quarantine
Alan Cosby is the Senior Vice President of Trio Healthcare, LLC, a company that manages nine long-term care facilities in Virginia. In the Southwest region, their biggest outbreak was in Galax during the late Spring mid-Summer timeframe when nearly 100 residents and staff tested positive.
“We began to see a little bit of an increased improvement in what we were doing, but it’s only been these last couple of months,” said Cosby. “We’ve had three vaccine clinics at all of our facilities so far. In total, about 95% of our residents accepted the vaccine. Employee counts are a bit lower than that. They’re at about 68%.”
While CVS and Walgreens have led the vaccination efforts of these residents through the federal retail pharmacy program, Dr. Morrow says the rollout has been smooth.
“No one wants to go to a nursing facility in the best of times,” admitted Cosby. “So, I think we have to rebuild some public trust.”
The horror stories of 2020 scared many, but Cosby says things will and have been getting better.
“I think we have to work hard on educating people why we’re safe – particularly as we go through this vaccination process and pandemic eases,” said Cosby.
For more information about Virginia’s efforts to support long-term care facilities, please visit the Virginia Long-Term Care Task Force website.