By: Barry Mangold
OKLAHOMA CITY -
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and senior health officials announced new guidelines for nursing homes and other long-term care facilities that include in-person visitation, which has been nonexistent for nearly a year due to pandemic precautions.
“The standard for getting back to normal cannot be zero cases. We can do this safely,” Stitt said.
Deputy Health Commissioner Travis Kirkpatrick said vaccinations play a key role in whether in-person visitation should be possible.
The guidelines say unmasked, unsupervised, in-person visits are recommended only when both the resident and visitor(s) are inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and other state officials on Tuesday announced new guidance for long-term care visitation amid drop in new COVID-19 cases and rise in vaccination.
By: News 9
OKLAHOMA CITY -
Oklahomans will be able to visit loved ones in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, per an announcement Tuesday afternoon from Gov. Kevin Stitt.
The announcement came during a news conference at St. Ann s Skilled Nursing and Therapy in Oklahoma City.
Visitation to long-term care facilities first closed in mid-March 2020 a decision Stitt said helped to save many lives.
Now, after almost a year of closed visitation Stitt and state health officials are working to safely bring families back together. Now is the time to reunite Oklahoma families and let them visit their loved ones safely, Stitt said.
Why testing for COVID-19 is still important Share Updated: 3:11 AM CST Mar 5, 2021 Naomi Thomas and Deidre McPhillips, CNN
Why testing for COVID-19 is still important Share Updated: 3:11 AM CST Mar 5, 2021
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Show Transcript RACE BETWEEN THE VACCINES AND TO DO ANY PRODUCTIVE ACTION WE NEED TO ACTUALLY BE LOOKING FOR TOP OF THEM. KIM: THREE COVID VARIANTS ALREADY IDENTIFIED HERE IN MARYLAND. THAT S WHY GOVERNOR HOGAN ANNOUNCED THE STATE IS MORE THAN DOUBLING THEIR SEQUENCING OF THE VIRUS FOR POSITIVE COVID TESTS THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS WITH JOHNS HOPKINS AND THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND. INCREASING THE SEQUENCING ALLOWS US TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT DIFFERENT FORMS OF THE VIRUS ARE CIRCULATING IN MARYLAND. THOSE KEY SEQUENCES WILL BE IF WE NEED TO MAKE A BOOSTER DOSE OF VACCINE. KIM: AS OF NOW DOCTORS SAY THE CURRENT VACCINES ARE EFFECTIVE AGAINST ALL OF THE KNOWN MUTATIONS. STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS SAY IN MOST OF THE 60 CONFIRMED VARIANT