Hospitals and Group Homes in Parts of New York Can Again Welcome Visitors

New York hospitals can allow visitors at their discretion starting Friday, June 19.

Governor Andrew Cuomo also says group care facilities like those for the developmentally disabled will also be allowed to have visitors so long as the institutions follow state guidelines, which include time-limited visits and requiring visitors to wear protective gear. Visits will also be subject to symptom and temperature checks. Visitation plans have to be submitted to and approved by the State Office of Developmental Disabilities

Cuomo points to signs that the coronavirus is no longer spreading at an overwhelming pace in New York, which saw a peak of over 700 deaths of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 in just one day in mid-April.

For a second day in a row Governor Cuomo announced June 16 that 25 people had died of coronavirus overnight.

Nursing Homes are not included in the easing of the restrictions to allow visitation.

The Governor says health officials remain too concerned for the vulnerable population in adult care facilities and nursing homes and the high mortality rates for those residents from the pandemic to allow visitations, even with restrictions.