Gov. Ned Lamont issued an executive order Wednesday requiring nursing home visitors to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative test result.
The order directs nursing home facilities to require those visitors to show proof of vaccination or a negative 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,” Governor Lamont said. “This is one more precaution we can implement at these facilities to keep them safe.”
Executive Order No. 14F specifically requires visitors:
Get Connecticut local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Connecticut newsletters.
- Provide proof that they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and, if eligible, under FDA or CDC guidance, have received a COVID-19 vaccine booster;
- Provide paper or electronic proof of a negative COVID-19 test result from either a rapid antigen test that was completed within the previous 48 hours or a PCR test that was completed within the previous 72 hours; or
- Take a rapid antigen test at the nursing home.
The order requires nursing homes to deny entry to any visitor who tests positive for COVID-19 or who refuses to take a rapid antigen test.
Nursing homes cannot deny entry to visitors who are willing to take a rapid antigen test, but are unable to because the facility doesn't provide them with the test.
The Department of Public Health will distribute 50,000 rapid antigen tests to nursing homes around the state beginning on Friday. Those tests are to be used exclusively for the new visitor requirements, according to the governor's office.
The executive order takes effect on Saturday.
