On July 11, 2020, the Ontario government announced the gradual resumption of visits by family and friends to long-term care homes, retirement homes, and other residential care settings.
Starting Thursday, June 18, 2020, visits will be allowed with certain conditions in place, as follows:
- Long-term care homes will allow outdoor visits of one person per resident each week at a minimum
- Retirement homes will resume indoor and outdoor visits in designated areas or residential suites when physical distancing can be maintained
- Other residential care settings will allow outdoor visits of two people at a time
All visits will be subject to strict health and safety protocols, including requiring visitors to pass active screening every time they visit, confirming with staff that they have tested negative for COVID-19 within the previous two weeks, and complying with the infection prevention and control protocols. This includes bringing and wearing a face covering during visits.
Additionally, long-term care and retirement homes, as well as other residential care settings, must meet the following conditions before they welcome visitors:
- Homes must not be in the midst of a COVID-19 outbreak
- Homes must have an established process for communicating visitor protocol and safety procedures
- Homes must maintain the highest of infection prevention and control standards
For retirement homes, visitor admissions will vary from home to home depending upon their individual circumstances.
For further information, see here.