Gov. McMaster Asks DHEC to Allow visitation in Nursing Homes, Assisted Living Communities

Gov. Henry McMaster has issued a statement to South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) Chairman Mark Elam requesting that his agency release up-to-date visitation guidelines providing all direction and information deemed necessary to resume in-person visitation with residents in nursing and assisted living communities, reports ABC News 4 . "Restricting visitation to our state's nursing . . . and assisted living communities in March was a heartbreaking necessity," McMaster said. "It was the most effective way to contain the spread of COVID-19 and to save the lives of our state's senior and at-risk residents." McMaster on June 26 asked DHEC to develop guidelines to allow limited visitation to these communities, but then asked to delay those guidelines after spiking infection rates and hospitalizations in July. With new daily case totals declining and the state posting less than 1,000 new cases in six consecutive days as of Aug. 20, McMaster is requesting visitation resumption. "Although no policy or procedure can eliminate all possibility of risk, it is clear that the time has come to expand current rules to allow in-person visitation by immediate family members, loved ones, or caregivers," the governor declared.