COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Thursday that visitors will begin to be permitted in an outdoor setting at intermediate care facilities on June 8.
The facilities that will be permitted to have outside visitors are those for individuals with developmental disabilities and assisted living facilities, DeWine said.
DeWine said people have expressed concerns about people staying at the care facilities were struggling not being able to connect to their family members and loved ones. He said the decision to allow outdoor visitors was a cumulation of the need for connection in residents at the facilities, requests from family and loved ones of residents at the facilities and advice from advocates and care providers.
Under the guidelines, the facilities will need to require a screening protocol for visitors to check for illness. They will also need to have set hours for visitation and limited visitation times. Social distancing guidelines will also need to be followed, DeWine said.
While some intermediate care facilities and assisted living facilities can begin to have visitors again on June 8, nursing homes are not included in the decision at this time.
The state is working to create a plan to safely allow visitors at nursing homes but DeWine said they are not to that point just yet.
“I know that causes anguish for a lot of people who are watching this, but we’re trying to do this so that we don’t increase the COVID inside the nursing homes or the assisted living or the intermediate care facilities,” DeWine said. “So we’re gonna start with a couple of the intermediate care facilities with people with developmental disabilities and the assisted living facilities we’re going to start on June 8.”
