State health department allowing visitors at residential care facilities with precautions

DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment released new guidelines Wednesday to safely allow visitors back to residential care facilities.

Below are the new guidelines from CDPHE:

• The facility cannot have outdoor visitation if the facility had any recent positive cases or outbreaks and has not completed the required isolation period of 14 days. Facilities with active cases are not allowed to offer visits. 
• All visits must be scheduled. Prior to the visits, facilities must provide information about COVID-19, and instructions for self-screening on the day of the visit, social distancing and mask-wearing, and details about the visit.
• The visitor must be greeted outside at a designated area by facility staff, and the staff member will perform temperature check and symptom screening in accordance with current CDC guidelines. Visitors with symptoms in the previous 14 days should not be allowed visitation. Residents who are in isolation or quarantine related to COVID-19 or have symptoms related to COVID-19 may not participate in outdoor visitation.
• All visitors must wear a face mask or cloth face covering. All staff and the resident must wear a surgical or cloth mask unless doing so would inhibit the resident’s health.  
• Visitors must supply name and contact information to facilities for contact tracing.
• Facilities must establish a separate designated meeting area outdoors for these visitations. The facility should ensure that residents not participating in visits continue to have access to outdoor space. This area must be monitored to ensure it remains separated from the facility population and staff. 
• There can be no more than eight people (including resident, staff, and visitors) in the gathering, or the number determined by using the Social Distancing Calculator, whichever is smaller. The allowable number of visitors should be documented in the visitation plan. 
• Furniture used for external visits should be appropriately cleaned and disinfected between visits.
• Each facility must document their outdoor visitation policies and add it to their isolation plan.