The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published new guidance for day centers and the people with disabilities they serve during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The guidance comes in two documents — one aimed at administrators and staff and another for participants and their caregivers — that were issued in March 2021.

The new guidance indicates administrators and staff of Adult Day Services Centers (ADSC), also known as Adult Day Care, can help protect themselves and adults attending ADSCs from COVID-19 by promoting and engaging in preventive behaviors that reduce spread and maintain healthy operations and environments at ADSC facilities.

Administrators, staff, and volunteers at ADSC should use the new guidance, some of which is summarized below, to help plan for and implement prevention strategies to prevent COVID-19 from spreading at their facilities:

• Get vaccinated when vaccine is available;
• After vaccination continue using appropriate prevention strategies;
• Staff should wear a mask when in the presence of others;
• Continue to keep at least 6 feet between yourself and others, when possible, even when wearing a mask;
• Staff and participants should wash hand often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds;
• Limit nonessential visitors (for example, volunteers, family members).
• Ensure all persons entering the facility adhere to the same safety protocols as the staff and participants.
• Avoid group transportation, if possible.
• Participants and staff should stay home if they have tested positive for the virus, have had close contact with someone who has or if they have symptoms.
• Centers have been advised to have a plan to isolate and transport anyone who shows symptoms.
• Centers should modify layouts to allow for physical distancing, install plexiglass barriers and prioritize outdoor activities.

The guidance is meant to supplement, not replace, existing federal and local rules and regulations for day centers, according to the CDC.

Links to the CDC web pages on which the new guidance is published follows: for administrators and staff and for participants and their caregivers.

The National Center on Law and Elder Rights (NCLER) recently updated its pamphlet entitled “Frequently Asked Questions: LTSS Visitation Rights & COVID-19” to include information on the most recent guidance from the CDC. The NCLER’s updated pamphlet is attached here –

Download (PDF, 64KB)

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