New rules for visiting long-term care facilities
(Gareth Henderson Photo)
Strict new rules will allow families to visit relatives indoors at long-term care facilities in Vermont for the first time since March, when the pandemic reached the state.
At a Tuesday press conference, Human Services Secretary Mike Smith unveiled the new guidance, which was prompted by new recommendations at the federal level. The state's new rules went into effect Monday.
"We know that an inability to see family and loved ones has had an impact on our long-term care residents," Smith said. "We want to ensure that we address that impact while still keeping our long-term residents safe."
Under the new guidelines, the determining factor is the COVID-19 positivity rate in the county where the facility is located. Facilities in counties with a 0-10 percent positivity rate can have indoor visitation within strict parameters (Vermont as a whole is at the very low end of that range, as it has been for months). No more than two visitors are allowed in a facility at once. If a county ever saw a positivity rate of over 10 percent, only outdoor visitation or compassionate care visits would be allowed at these facilities. If a facility ever had a positive case of COVID-19, all visitation would be suspended except for compassionate care.
The new guidelines also use county positivity rate to determine the frequency of staff COVID-19 testing required. If that positivity rate is under 5 percent, the staff must be tested weekly. That frequency would move to weekly if that rate is over 5 percent, and then twice weekly if the rate exceeds 10 percent.
The new rules also lay out strict requirements for facilities, including visitor screening, physical distancing, mask-wearing, hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfecting practices, and use of personal protective equipment (PPE).
When it comes to visitors, all visits must be scheduled, visitor contact information must be collected in case contact tracing is ever needed, and Vermont’s existing quarantine rules apply. Per the state's online travel map, quarantine is required for any traveler entering Vermont from a county coded yellow or red, meaning that county has a COVID-19 caseload of higher than 400 active cases per million residents.
During his remarks Tuesday, Smith noted that it will take time for these facilities to implement these new regulations.
"We encourage all that are anxious family members to be patient as (facilities) work to adopt these new expectations and continue to prioritize the safety of your loved ones."
— Gareth Henderson
