Visitation Restrictions Loosened In RI Hospitals, Nursing Homes

PROVIDENCE, RI — As Rhode Island's coronavirus data continues to improve week over week, visitors will again be allowed into hospitals and long-term care facilities, starting Friday.

Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, the director of the Rhode Island Department of Health, thanked residents for their patience over the past months and acknowledged the difficulty for patients and their families to be isolated for so long.

"Restricting visitation was a very important measure to protect vulnerable Rhode Islanders and our health care system," she said, adding that it was "one of the most difficult and heartbreaking decisions" made during the pandemic.

Starting Friday, hospitals and congregate care facilities will be allowed to move to Level One of the three-tier system put in place at the beginning of the pandemic. This is the least amount of restrictions.

"To be clear, visitation is not just going back to normal," Alexander-Scott said. "We will still need to be cautious."

All visitors will be required to follow the "Three Ws" — washing hands frequently, wearing a mask and watching distance, as well as complete a coronavirus symptom check upon their arrival. Family members should also work with their loved one's health care provider to determine the best visitation rules fir individual cases.

Nursing homes will be allowed to resume visitation Friday if they had no documented cases of COVID-19 within the past 14 days. Going forward, if one case is found, the facility will be required to follow the Department of Health's isolation rules, and if two or more cases are found, the facility will have to work with the department to determine the best steps forward, including if visitation should be temporarily suspended.

These changed restrictions, as well as changed rules for businesses, were able to happen because of the state's declining hospitalizations, case numbers and percent positivity rate. In addition, the state's targeted focus on vaccinating nursing home residents and health care workers allowed visitation to resume, Alexander-Scott said.

Coronavirus in Rhode Island: Read more

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