 DELAWARE- There is no longer an emergency in Delaware but that does not mean precautions are going away.
The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services has decided to keep it's COVID-19 guidance on long term care visits in place and Nurse Administrator Kim Reed says it is to make sure residents are as safe as possible.
"It does and has continued to allow families and friends to visit their loved ones in nursing homes, but it also allows us to protect such a vulnerable population by having some restrictions related to continuing mask wearing in common areas and by unvaccinated visitors,"Â Reed said.
Outdoor visits continue to be encouraged, but if people have to go inside COVID-19 testing is available upon request but is not required. Being vaccinated is also not required.
While vaccination rates are high in long-term care facilities, Executive Director of the Delaware Health Care facilities Association Cheryl Heiks says those numbers can fluctuate with new admissions and staff changeover.
"You do need to realize that you get new residents and new staff members every day," Heiks said. "So, that number can go up and go down. And whether or not that vaccination rate would also include all of the other people that we that come into the building."
Even though the Lewes Senior Activity Center is not a long-tern care facility, Executive Director Dennis Nealen cares about the cleanliness of the building and keeping visitors safe from COVID-19
"We are completely open, but we have hand sanitizer all over the building," Nealen said. "We clean our vents hourly. And we're just doing everything we can to keep people a little bit distant. We're still trying to keep our three feet of socialization."
It is great for families to see loved ones again, but for now visits remain at the discretion of the facilities if positive cases arise.