Mass. Loosens Visitation Restrictions at Long-Term and Congregate Care Communities, Assisted Living Residences

The state of Massachusetts has announced that residents of long-term care communities, congregate care communities, and assisted living residences who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 can now host vaccinated guests in their rooms without physical distancing, although masks must still be worn, reports WHDH . The Executive Office of Health and Human Services and its associated agencies issued new guidelines for healthcare and human service providers, which say community visits no longer have to be scheduled in advance, unless requested by the individual community. Activities that require residents to be within six feet of each other can resume if residents are fully inoculated, while those who are fully vaccinated and return to their living center from a different setting no longer need to quarantine for two weeks. Gov. Chariie Baker's administration said 86 percent of all long-term care or assisted living residents are fully vaccinated, and 98 percent have received at least one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. In congregate care communities, where 70 percent of eligible residents have received at least one dose and nearly 60 percent are fully vaccinated, programs can permit over two visitors per resident at a time, provided all visitors are from the same household.