Guidance for Nursing Homes

Starting Sept. 28, nursing homes, long-term care facilities and assisted living centers may allow for indoor visitations. To participate, nursing homes must meet several requirements, including, but not limited to:

• Not having a current outbreak within 14 days;
• Percentage of positive COVID-19 tests in the county they are located is less than 10%;
• Having a testing plan and updated written Infection Control or Preparedness plan for COVID-19; and
• Having adequate personal protective equipment.

Details are outlined in N.C. DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen’s Secretarial Order,  which was signed on Sept. 28.

In addition to restricting visitors, nursing homes can implement the following processes to limit the spread of COVID-19 within their facility:

• If the nursing home has a positive resident, the resident should be isolated away from healthy residents. If possible, all residents and all staff should be tested for the virus, per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. If results render additional positive cases, those positive residents should be cohorted.
• If nursing home staff experience symptoms of the virus, they should stay home for seven days. Once they are fever-free for three consecutive days after the start of their symptoms, they may return to work.
• If staff has a negative COVID-19 test and have no symptoms, they may return to work.
• If employees test positive and have no symptoms, they can return to work, but they can only support the residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 and they must wear appropriate personal protective equipment at all times per guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.