Connecticut governor requires nursing home visitors to show proof of vaccination

Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has issued an executive order pertaining to nursing home visitors.

The Democrat governor announced in a news release he has signed Executive Order No. 14F, which requires all nursing homes in the state to require visitors show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test result from a recent test.

“We know that some of the people who are most vulnerable to the impacts of COVID-19 include those who live in nursing homes, which is why we need to be doing everything we can to protect them from this virus,” Lamont said in the release. “This is one more precaution we can implement at these facilities to keep them safe.”

The order goes into effect on Saturday.

Lamont’s order calls for visitors to show proof they are fully vaccinated against COVID and have received a booster, if eligible, according to the release. In addition, the visitor must show paper or electronic proof of a negative test within the previous two days or a PCT test completed in the past three days.

Visitors must also take a rapid antigen test at nursing homes, where patients during the early stages of the pandemic were at high risk of contracting the virus and dying.

Under the order, nursing homes can deny entrance to any visitor who tests positive for the virus or who refuses the rapid test. In addition, the nursing homes, under guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, cannot deny entry to any visitor willing to take the test but is unable because the nursing home doesn’t have a test.

According to the release, the state’s Department of Public Health is planning to distribute more than 50,000 rapid antigen tests to the state’s nursing homes to be used exclusively for safe visitation.