As Ohio continues to reopen its economy amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, one of the last things to remain prohibited has been nursing home visitation.
But while visiting at nursing homes remains off-limit for now, that may not be the case for long, as Ohio Governor Mike DeWine revealed on Tuesday that he plans on sharing guidance to reallow it within the next week.
"There's nothing to me that has been tougher or more heartbreaking to see than families who have not been able to visit their loved ones, loved ones who have not been able to receive visits from their family members," DeWine said. "We have tried to balance the safety of everyone in that nursing home with the real need for people, particularly after three or four months, to see their loved ones in-person."
DeWine went on to acknowledge that navigating safety protocols regarding nursing homes could prove difficult with 70 percent of Ohio's coronavirus-related deaths so far having come from nursing homes. The Governor also said that the state plans to take additional steps toward increasing testing in nursing homes after implementing the Ohio National Guard to aid in the process in May.
"We should have something to announce within the next week about our plan so that people can start visiting in nursing homes," DeWine said. "We've got to be very careful. As we can test more and we have more testing availability, that is going to help us do that."