Some nursing home residents will today welcome their first visitors since March.

Visits of up to two people are allowed in homes with no ongoing outbreaks.

The visits must be prearranged and last no longer than half an hour. Each visitor will have to undergo a temperature check before entering a home and will only be allowed to visit once a week.

The reopening of nursing homes to visitors was originally due form part of Phase Three of reopening; however, the process was accelerated last week.

Up to 60% of the country’s COVID-19 fatalities have occurred in long-term and residential care settings.

The new visitation guidelines call for homes to provide a separate entrance and exit area for visitors and for visiting times to be staggered to avoid crowding.

Visitors will have to declare whether they have had the virus or been a close contact of someone who has.

They will also have to sign in and declare that they are not suffering any symptoms of the virus.

Homes will be expected to provide masks to any visitor that can’t maintain social distancing throughout the visit.

Visits to care homes with ongoing outbreaks will remain banned, except for in essential circumstances.

Meanwhile, some residential care settings have decided not to resume visitation today and are following a more phased approach to allowing visitors to return.