By Anne Ryman | Arizona Republic
Arizona is close to reopening nursing homes to visitors after restricting nearly all in-person visits since mid-March in an effort to control the spread of COVID-19.
A state Task Force on Long-Term Care, established by Gov. Doug Ducey, approved recommended guidelines Tuesday that set up two main ways for visits to resume.
One way is a phased approach, based on where an Arizona county falls in terms of COVID-19 transmission.
The other approach would allow indoor visits in any county as long as visitors tested negative for COVID-19 within 48 hours of the visit. Visitors would be required to wear facemasks and observe social distancing. They also would have to sign a document, saying they had isolated themselves between the time they were tested and their visit.
