With Thursday's announcement, the state regulations regarding visitation to nursing homes and assisted living facilities are also lifted beginning June 18th. You will no longer need to schedule visits. It will no longer be a state requirement nor will be a state requirement that you can only have two visitors at a time. Ohio nursing homes are expected to continue to follow federal guidance from the center for Medicare and Medicaid services. Both nursing homes and assisted living facilities will be expected to follow CDC guidance. A testing requirement still remains for staff members who are unvaccinated, and they will need to continue to be tested twice per week.

People will be able to do indoor visitations for residents of developmentally-disabled facilities starting Monday, September 28th, and October 12th for residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. There are a lot of requirements that the facilities will need to meet to allow for indoor visitation, which includes working with local health departments to monitor the level of COVID-19 spread in their communities. Plus a number of restrictions, the facility and visitors have to meet.

Most nursing homes and assisted living centers now have the capability to collect COVID-19 tests on their own and send them to labs. In nursing homes, everyone is tested if there is one positive case found and staff are tested based on the spread in their community. Assisted living centers have resumed testing after pausing for a few weeks. When adult day cares and senior centers open, all staff will be tested routinely and depending on the facility, determines how seniors will be tested.

Unexpectedly, Gov. Mike DeWine took the stage for his coronavirus briefing today rather than Tuesday to announce another opening. On July 20, outdoor visitation at nursing homes will be allowed to begin. On June 8, the state began outdoor visitation for assisted living facilities and intermediate care facilities for individuals with developmental disabilities. DeWine says he is still concerned about Ohio's COVID-19 numbers, specifically in the areas around Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Dayton. Despite all that, he says hospital capacity remains adequate all over the state. 

Ohioans get more evidence their actions can dictate how the coronavirus spreads. Also, many have asked about support for nursing homes and we do have some clarity on how the state can help those impacted most by COVID-19. A doctor from Ohio State University's Infectious Disease Institute explained the science behind beating the virus. He confirmed that wearing masks, social distancing, and intermittent cleaning will diminish the likeliness of catching COVID-19.