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HARRISBURG – Secretary of Health, Dr. Rachel Levine, gave an update on universal testing in nursing homes across the Commonwealth in her news conference Tuesday, “I am so pleased to share that all skilled nursing facilities in Pennsylvania have complied with my order from June 8th, to test all the residents and all the staff in those facilities. One-hundred percent.”
Dr. Levine says there are approximately 84,000 residents plus the staff in these facilities, and it was a huge undertaking. She says it was an essential step to ensure further protection of that vulnerable population, “Our goal with implementing universal testing in nursing homes, was to rapidly detect asymptomatic positive residents and staff to prevent further spread. By completing universal testing, facilities are one step closer to achieving all the goals set out to allow safe visitation, communal dining, and activities.”
So, when will visitors be able to see loved ones in-person at nursing facilities again? “The public should call the facility. They well know where they are in terms of that schema and what it’s going to take for them to allow visitors. It’s a balance. At the same time, that of course, we want visitors to be able to see their loved ones, and their loved ones to be able to see their family. I mean, that’s critically important,” she said.
Dr. Levine says however, the coronavirus enters facilities through asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic individuals, and that’s why they need to be very careful to not introduce COVID-19 into the facilities in that way. She says the prevalence of COVID-19 in nursing facilities directly relates to the prevalence of COVID-19 in the communities they are located in. Hear her remarks HERE
