Ontario is pleased to announce that long-term care residents can once again leave their residences for short-stay and temporary absences.
Effective immediately, residents can spend time away from their long-term care homes for day trips or overnight absences. For short-stay absences (those that do not include an overnight stay) homes must provide residents with a medical mask to be worn at all times when outside the home, if tolerated, and remind them of the importance of public health measures such as physical distancing. When they return, residents must be actively screened but are not required to be tested or to self-isolate.
Residents may also leave for “temporary absences of one or more nights. Temporary absences will be at the discretion of the home and decided on a case-by-case basis based on safety factors like the risk associated with the absence (i.e: for a family weekend vs. a large gathering) and the ability of the home to help residents self-isolate upon return. For protection of their neighbours, residents who leave on a temporary absence will be required to self-isolate for 14 days when they return to the home.
Read the full statement by the Government of Ontario by clicking here.