Assisted-living facilities in Florida no longer have to test staff for the coronavirus

Assisted-living facilities in Florida no longer have to test staff for the coronavirus after two emergency mandates from the Agency for Health Care Administration expired Sunday.

The statewide orders were issued in mid-June and required nursing home and assisted-living facility staff to be tested every two weeks for COVID-19. Workers wouldn’t be let inside unless they had tested negative for the virus.

Nursing home staff are still required to be tested under federal guidelines from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But workers from assisted-living facilities won’t be, according to an alert AHCA sent to healthcare providers.

“With the expiration of the state Rule 59AER20-4, assisted-living facilities will no longer be required to routinely test staff,” the state’s alert read.

There are 3,120 assisted-living facilities registered in Florida with a total of more than 110,000 patient beds, according to AHCA. Florida’s nursing homes have about 86,000 beds. Coronavirus deaths tied to elder-care residents and staff make up about 41 percent of all deaths in the state, records show.

The expiration of the emergency orders does not affect coronavirus testing for elder-care center residents.

Earlier this month, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an order allowing nursing homes and assisted-living facilities to reopen to visitors. The new guidelines say a facility cannot have a new coronavirus case in 14 days in order to accept visitors. Facilities have the choice to reopen or not under the guidelines.

Unlike the state’s biweekly testing mandate, federal testing guidelines for nursing homes depends on the coronavirus positivity rate in the region. If the county has a positivity rate of less than 5 percent, testing for staff can be just once a month. If the rate is between 5 and 10 percent, staff testing is once a week. If the positivity rate is above 10 percent, testing is ordered twice a week, according to CMS.

Elder-care facilities use point-of-care testing devices that return near instant results. The devices were sent by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to nursing homes in hot spots beginning in July.

As of Tuesday, about 3,000 nursing home and assisted-living facility residents had tested positive for the coronavirus, which showed a decline from the month prior. About 3,400 health care workers in those facilities have tested positive for the virus, according to the Florida Department of Health.

• • •

Tampa Bay Times coronavirus coverage

HOW CORONAVIRUS IS SPREADING IN FLORIDA: Find the latest numbers for your county, city or zip code.

FACE MASKS: Read the latest on guidelines, tips for comfort and long-term wear

GET THE DAYSTARTER MORNING UPDATE: Sign up to receive the most up-to-date information.

THE CORONAVIRUS SCRAPBOOK: We collected your stories, pictures, songs, recipes, journals and more to show what life has been like during the pandemic.

Keep up with Tampa Bay’s top headlines

Subscribe to our free DayStarter newsletter

We’ll deliver the latest news and information you need to know every weekday morning.

Loading...

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

A TRIBUTE TO THE FLORIDIANS TAKEN BY THE CORONAVIRUS: They were parents and retirees, police officer and doctors, imperfect but loved deeply.

HAVE A TIP?: Send us confidential news tips

We’re working hard to bring you the latest news on the coronavirus in Florida. This effort takes a lot of resources to gather and update. If you haven’t already subscribed, please consider buying a print or digital subscription.