Visits to nursing homes are allowed from today as new guidelines from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre come into effect.
Until now, only window visits to nursing homes were permitted between Levels 3 and 5 of the Plan for Living with Covid-19. However, from today, one visit by one person per week should be facilitated at Levels 3 and 4 for residents who wish to receive visitors.
If the country is moved back to Level 5, it would be restricted to one visit by one person every two weeks. Residents can also have an extra visit during the Christmas period.
Under the new rules it is recommended the visits are limited to one hour. There is no requirement that they are by the same person each week but they must preplanned.