SOUTH CAROLINA — After nearly six months of isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, people can visit relatives and friends in South Carolina nursing homes and residential care facilities. But there will be no hugs and kisses and they’ll have to meet outside.
Gov. Henry McMaster announced new guidelines for visitation Tuesday, which require guests to give full contact information and pass a temperature check.
Channel 9 has shown you scenes where families do everything they can to spend birthdays and special moments today, while also at a safe distance to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
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McMaster began his Tuesday afternoon news conference by saying, “restrictions to nursing homes back in March was a heart-breaking necessity, but necessary to save lives.”
The governor said the past months have caused stress, frustration and anxiety and has been hard on families who have worried about their loved ones in nursing homes. On Tuesday, he announced that the time has come to safely reunite families.
“As expected, the months of separation and isolation have caused loneliness, depression, stress, anxiety among the residents. I worry about them, like you do, every day.” said McMaster, adding he has read dozens of letters and had hundreds of conversations with heartbroken families.
McMaster first asked DHEC to review nursing home visitation policies in June but had to delay due to rising cases this summer.
Allowing visitors to return has been a goal of health officials and McMaster. At nursing homes across the state, people can be seen outside windows of loved ones. But for much of the summer, COVID-19 cases spiked in the state and in June, the governor had to delay allowing visitors.
Families have not been able to visit their loved ones at long-term facilities since March, except on a case-by-case basis in “end of life” situations.
Last month, McMaster wrote a letter to DHEC asking for a phased approach to reunite families. He said in order to do this, testing, monitoring, scheduling and communication must be involved with strict health guidelines.
He wrote, “We are committed to protecting the physical, mental and emotional health of our elderly and at-risk people -- and their loved loves. Although, no policy or procedure can eliminate all possibility of risk. It is clear that the time has come to expand current rules to allow in-person visitation by immediate family members, loved ones or caregivers.”
[CLICK HERE FOR IN-DEPTH DETAILS ABOUT THE NEW GUIDELINES]
On Tuesday, McMaster said the new guidelines will require the testing of every staff member, resident and visitor -- there will be “constant” testing.
“The last thing anyone wants to see is visitation at a nursing home suspended due to an outbreak, but we can prevent that,” he said.
The director of DHEC, Marshall Taylor, said there will be limited outdoor visitation at nursing homes. The outdoor visits will be allowed at some nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
“We understand how difficult it has been during these past few months for friends and families to be distanced from their loved ones who reside in nursing homes and similar facilities, but we believe the visitation restrictions put in place have helped save lives and have helped protect the health and wellbeing of the dedicated workers who care for these residents,” Taylor said.
Taylor said each nursing home and assisted living facility will need a reasonable amount of time in order to meet the criteria outlined in the guidelines, meaning outdoor visitation will not be immediately available.
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A facility’s ability to allow visitation depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to the following:
- Existing cases of the virus within the facility
- Facility’s staffing capabilities and PPE availability
- Facility’s ability to comply with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) testing requirements.
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The new guidelines will be based on COVID-19 cases in the community, availability of PPE, and continued testing. If three or more positive cases are found in staff or residents in 14 days, visitation must be suspended for another 14 days until there are no cases at the facility.
Currently, there are 90 nursing homes in the state that meet the criteria of not having cases among residents or staff within the prior 14 days, and there are 31 nursing homes that have only had one case in the last 14 days.
The new guidelines will bring nursing home visitations from “cyberspace to outdoor space,” officials said.
“We don’t want to go backward,” Taylor said.
South Carolina’s monthlong decline in COVID-19 cases has leveled off in recent days as students return to school and the Labor Day holiday looms.
These limited outdoor visitation criteria and guidelines are based on the most recent CMS guidance for reopening nursing homes, CDC guidance for COVID-19 in nursing homes, and DHEC’s long-term care facility testing guidance, as well as visitation plans from other states. The guidelines are available in full on DHEC’s website, on the “Nursing Homes” resource webpage accessible toward the bottom of the main COVID-19 landing page.
The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases had been dropping for the past five weeks, but that decline has leveled off and began rising again, topping 900 for the first time in two weeks.
COVID-19 deaths never did decline significantly in South Carolina with the seven-day average failing to drop below 26 deaths a day since July 17.
Overall, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control reports more than 118,000 people infected with the virus and 2,626 deaths.
The Memorial Day weekend in May marked the start of the spike, and with Labor Day weekend upcoming and students at all levels returning to school, experts worry another spike in COVID-19 cases could happen if people are not vigilant about masks, social distancing, hand-washing and other safety measures.
One current hot spot is the University of South Carolina, which started its fall semester last month with in-person classes. The school has reported more than 500 coronavirus cases and is sending rapid tests to places on campus where wastewater testing shows high levels of the virus.
The school also suspended six sororities or fraternities, as well 15 students, for violating COVID-19 safety rules.
McMaster wanted elementary, middle and high schools to offer a five-day a week option for schools, although he does not have the power to order that and most districts decided to split students into groups that come into school two days a week and learn virtually the remaining days. All schools will start back by Sept. 8.
The NASCAR race at Darlington as well as college football games this month will have fans, although at a much lower capacity.
Nursing home visitation is another milestone. The rules announced Tuesday require visitors and residents to stay 6 feet apart while in special outdoor visitation areas. Facilities can also use three-sided Plexiglas booths to let people visit closer together.
Masks have to be worn at all times from the moment visitors arrive at the home. There is a limit to two visitors, who can only stay 15 minutes unless they can provide a negative COVID-19 test in the past five days or a positive COVID-19 antibody test in the past 30 days. Pets can visit too if they are in kennels or leashed.
Visitors cannot come inside the nursing home and residents can’t pass through any area where COVID-19 patients are to get to the visitation area, according to the new rules.
Facilities have to protect residents and visitors from the weather and can choose to not allow visitors if they wish.
(The Associated Press contributed to this article.)
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