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Illinois relaxes restrictions on family visits to nursing homes -- starting now
Belleville News-Democrat - 6/19/2020
Jun. 19--Families may soon be able to see their loved ones in nursing homes again more than three months after those facilities locked down due to the coronavirus pandemic, the state has announced.
Long-term care centers are allowed to schedule outdoor visits as of Friday, an association for hundreds of facilities in Illinois stated in a public message to its members after the Illinois Department of Public Health announced it was relaxing visitor restrictions.
Leaders from the facility group, Illinois Health Care Association, had said earlier in June that they were pushing the state for outdoor visits.
"We understand the depression that's happening in buildings, and that's one we're going to fight on," said Matt Hartman, Illinois Health Care Association's executive director.
What will nursing home visits look like?
Residents with an active COVID-19 infection, caused by the coronavirus, will not be allowed to participate in outdoor visits, according to state guidance issued Thursday.
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Up to two relatives or friends can schedule a visit at one time with a long-term care center resident who is not sick. The facilities will screen residents and their visitors for any symptoms of the virus. There will also be temperature checks for visitors.
During the visit, they will have to wear face coverings and stay 6 feet apart, the distance experts believe cuts down on the chance of contracting the virus.
Individual long-term care centers will decide how many visitors will be allowed in a given day and how long the visits will last.
Read the full guidance from the state at dph.illinois.gov/covid19/community-guidance/outdoor-visitation-guidance-long-term-care-facilities.
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