Nursing Home Residents Can Receive Visitors Again – And Hugs

 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, released guidance on Wednesday stating that nursing home residents can now begin to receive hugs from loved ones. Indoor visitation is also now open to all residents. The guidelines were announced due to the lower rates of COVID-19 infections and transmission.The new footage, obtained from security surveillance cameras located nearby, appears to show the person in front of both buildings.

“At 7:40 p.m. on Jan. 5, the suspected bomber is seen standing in a residential neighborhood on South Capitol Street with the bag, which is briefly set on the ground as a man walking his dog passes by,” ABC News reported. “At 7:52 p.m., the person can be seen seated on a bench in front of the DNC, where the first pipe bomb was reportedly placed under a bush. The suspect appears to zip up a bag, stand up, and walk away.”

“At 8:14 p.m., the suspected bomber is seen in an alley near the RNC, where a second pipe bomb was found. Moments later, a security camera captures the suspect walking in front of the Capitol Hill Club, adjacent to the RNC and less than half a block from the Cannon House Office Building,” the outlet continued.CMS’s statement also clarified, “Visitation can be conducted through various means based on a facility’s’ structure and residents’ needs, including in resident rooms, visitation spaces, and outdoors.”

CMS incorporated guidelines on how to facilitate indoor visitation during coronavirus outbreaks, stating that even though outbreaks might create an added risk of transmission of COVID-19, visitation should not be entirely off-limits as long as the outbreak is kept in one area of the facility.

Visitors are not required to be vaccinated or show proof of vaccination, although the guidance does encourage those planning on visiting nursing homes to be vaccinated if they are given the chance.“Compassionate Care Visits” should be allowed at any time for anyone living in the facilities. These visits include end-of-life circumstances and when residents are “in decline or distress.”

Dr. Lee Fleisher, a senior agency medical officer, said in a statement, “Now that millions of vaccines have been administered to nursing home residents and staff, and the number of COVID cases in nursing homes has dropped significantly, CMS is updating its visitation guidance to bring more families together safely.”

According to CDC data, COVID-19 deaths among residents in nursing homes spiked in December, but has since reached a lowest recorded rate this month. The highest rate of death was recorded during the week ending in December 20, where the rate was 6.39 per 1,000 residents. The most recent data comes from the week ending in March 7, where the rate was 1.09 per 1,000 residents.