COVID-19: No Changes in Guidance and Staying the Course for Nursing Facilities and Assisted Living/Residential Care Facilities

Even though the CDC recently announced that it is updating its COVID-19 guidance to reduce the isolation period, it is important to note that this update does not apply to nursing facilities or assisted living/residential care facilities. CDC’s update only applies to the general public and this update now aligns more closely with existing Oregon guidance for the public.

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has not made any changes to its “Interim Summary of Long Term Care Facility Infection Control for COVID-19 and Other Respiratory Pathogens,” which continues to apply to both nursing facility and assisted living/residential care facility settings. Under OHA’s guidance for nursing and assisted living/residential care facilities, staff who have COVID-19 may return to work after: (1) recovery, which means at least 24 hours have passed since last fever without the use of medications and there is an improvement in symptoms; and (2) the staff meets the time-based criteria for COVID-19, which means seven (7) days have passed since COVID-19 symptoms first appeared if a negative viral test is obtained between 5-7 days (or 10 days have passed if testing is not performed or there is a positive test at day 5-7).

For additional details on OHA’s current guidance on the management of COVID-19 and other respiratory pathogens, please review their summary of guidelines which can be accessed here.