The Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD and the Minister for Mental Health and Older People, Mary Butler, TD, have welcomed the approval by the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) of new Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) COVID-19 Guidance on visitations to Long Term Residential Care Facilities, to be implemented from 22 March.

The new visitation guidance incorporates early learning from the positive impact of the vaccine rollout nationally and internationally and will provide enhanced opportunity for visiting in nursing homes across all levels of the Government’s Plan “COVID-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 - The Path Ahead”.

While the guidance in place had provided for visiting on critical and compassionate grounds, this new guidance now expands the scope of visiting on general compassionate grounds. It also refines the guidance across Levels 1 to 5, which now provides for increased visiting at Levels 3, 4 and 5, subject to risk assessment and no open outbreak.

 Residents may be facilitated to receive two visits per week on general compassionate grounds. This will be possible following two weeks after full vaccination of approximately 8 out of 10 of all residents and healthcare workers in the nursing home.  There is no requirement to limit visits to less than one hour. This is an increase from the current guidance where one visit per resident is facilitated every two weeks.

 To allow time for making arrangements and planning for the implementation of the guidance, the new guidance comes into effect from 22 March 2021.

 At all times vigilance on the general infection prevention measures must be maintained. The guidance will be kept under continuing review as new evidence and data emerges.