RESTRICTIONS EASED — Gov. Jim Justice announces an easing of visitation restrictions at nursing homes during a briefing Wednesday at the state Capitol in Charleston. (Contributed photo)

CHARLESTON — More than 90 days after Gov. Jim Justice ordered all nursing homes closed to visitors, some easing of coronavirus restrictions at nursing homes will take place under strict guidance and rules.

Justice announced Wednesday that a phase-in of limited visitation at the state’s 123 nursing homes will start June 17.

“Because these people we know are the most vulnerable of all…we’re going to phase in this visitation,” Justice said. “We’re doing it as quickly as we possibly can.”

The visitation restrictions will only be lifted if a nursing home facility reports more than 14 days since the facility had any active cases of COVID-19 going back to June 3. Once the facility reports to the Department of Health and Human Resources and is certified, the nursing home will be allowed to start limited visitation by appointment only.

“As our nursing homes open back up to visitation, you’re going to be expected to call and get an appointment at a time when the nursing home can accommodate you to come and see your loved one that desperately needs for you to be able to see them,” Justice said.

Justice signed an executive order on March 12 restricting visitation at nursing homes except in emergency situations or end-of-life situations.

“In trying to protect these people, we had to do what we did,” Justice said. “At the same time, if you just step back and think about it, if it were your mom or dad or your grandchildren that you want to see, in all those circumstances this is horrendously difficult and horrendously sad for those families. We want to get you back together as safely as we possibly can to protect all of those in the nursing homes system.”

Nursing homes nationwide have been some of the hardest hit institutions when it comes to COVID-19. According to the New York Times, nearly a third of all coronavirus deaths can be attributed to nursing homes.

In West Virginia, there were no COVID-19 cases among residents and staff at 71 percent of nursing homes before an April 17 executive order by Justice that called for testing. In 6 percent of facilities, COVID-19 had already been identified before the executive order, while 23 percent of facilities — 28 facilities in total — were newly identified as having at least one unique individual who tested positive for the coronavirus.

Of the more approximately 23,000 residents and staff tested, 0.18 percent came back positive for COVID-19 — 0.12 percent of residents and 0.23 percent of staff.

Justice ordered all nursing homes be tested, or in some cases re-tested, after major outbreaks in nursing homes in Monongalia, Kanawha, Wayne and Jackson counties in March and April. The catalyst was an outbreak at Eldercare Health and Rehabilitation in Ripley when the facility waited nearly a week before testing all residents and staff after an employee tested positive for COVID-19 at the beginning of April. That facility is still under investigation by DHHR.

Speaking Wednesday, Justice said he was confident nursing homes would be able to protect residents and allow limited visitation at the same time.

“I’ve had a lot of discussions with them,” Justice said. “They’re absolutely going to do great work in trying to ensure we protect all the people at those facilities. They’re on it. They have some great plans and guidelines.”

Full guidance will be available at governor.wv.gov.

(Adams can be contacted at sadams@newsandsentinel.com)