Adult care home restrictions ease from 31 January
From 31 January, COVID restrictions on adult social care, including nursing care homes for the elderly, have eased.
The safety of care home residents will continue to be the priority. The new measures will ensure there are still robust protections in place to protect them while case rates in the community remain high.
The main changes are:
- Unlimited number of visitors for care home residents.
- No testing or self-isolation required for residents following normal visits out.
- Self-isolation periods reduced from 14 to 10 days for those who test positive, with further reductions if they test negative on days 5 and 6.
- Isolation periods for those in care following an emergency hospital visit will be reduced from 14 to a maximum 10 days, in line with the NHS and following the latest advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE).
- Care homes only have to follow outbreak management rules for 14 rather than 28 days.
By Wednesday 16 February, care workers will be asked to use rapid lateral flow tests before their shifts replacing the current system which included the use of weekly asymptomatic PCR tests.
86.5% of all care home residents have now had their booster jab, which provides maximum protection against Omicron, with the latest data from the UK Health Security Agency showing it’s 92% effective in preventing hospitalisation 2 weeks after it’s administered.
View full press release from the Department of Health and Social Care here.
