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Visitation to nursing homes now possible
New guidelines from Governor Brian Kemp are giving the green light to visitors at senior living facilities.
Athens, Ga. - Nursing homes and senior living facilities have the green light to allow visitors in phases under new guidelines from Governor Brian Kemp.
The guidelines include some requirements that need to be met for each phase of reopening, including at least 28 days since the last COVID 19 case at the facility. The local county positivity rates also have to meet certain levels.
Molly Arrowood's grandmother, Glenn Ann O'Neal, lives in a senior living facility in Athens.
For the majority of the last six months, Arrowood's visits with her grandmother have been distant.
She stands in the senior living center's parking lot and waves to her grandmother who opens the window in her 6th floor room or comes out on the balcony.
“It’s really hard. It makes me emotional sometimes because I don’t know when the next time I’m going to get to see her again in person. It almost feels like there is time being stolen away," Arrowood said.
The senior living facility in Athens had just started carefully allowing visitors again, lifting the spirits of O'Neal and her loved ones.
However, things are now back to the way they were, due to the new guidelines.
According to the Georgia Department of Health, Clarke County’s average positivity rate for the last 7 days is just under 11 percent. That rate is higher than several metro Atlanta counties such as Fulton, DeKalb, Cobb, and Gwinnett.
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“It’s frustrating because you have such high numbers because you have college students going out to parties and not following guidelines and I don’t think they realize the impact they’re having on the Athens community," Arrowood said.
The positive cases among University of Georgia students did decline in the last week. It's a good start, but Arrowood says families like hers are paying the price for her peers’ lack of caution.
“You’re guests in the Athens community. There’s a big community with a lot of families being affected by what you do or don’t do," she said.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released their own less stringent guidelines and have passed them along to the Governor's office for consideration with hopes that more people will be able to visit their loved ones.
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