Colorado adds safety requirements for residential care facilities

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) released updated guidance modifying masking requirements for residential care facilities serving older adults and people with disabilities.

Under the new rules, staff, visitors and residents in residential care facilities are required to wear masks regardless of vaccination status.

Also, testing is now required for fully vaccinated individuals who have had close contact with a COVID-positive person. Testing will include both lab-based PCR immediately following the exposure and point-of-care testing, utilizing rapid testing daily during their incubation period.

The announcement came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended that people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 begin wearing masks indoors once again in places with high transmission rates.

“The recent CDC announcement recommends that people in substantial and high transmission areas wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status,” said Randy Kuykendall, director, health facilities and EMS division, CDPHE. “As we look to decrease new COVID-19 cases, additional or more stringent infection prevention measures may be necessary at times and our experts will continue to monitor virus data so we can make mitigation decisions that best fit Colorado’s residential care facilities.”

Earlier this month, several groups came together to launch World Mask Week 2021.

CDPHE also continues to implement rapid testing for all unvaccinated staff and residents who leave the facility for longer than 24 hours.

Previously, San Francisco started requiring all its 35,000 municipal workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 when a vaccine receives federal approval.