Care home residents will be allowed to have indoor visits from a person of their choice from 8 March, the government has announced.
Under the current rules, visits can only take place outdoors or behind screens. This will change from early next month, as the country gradually comes out of its third national lockdown.
Nadra Ahmed, who chairs the National Care Association, welcomed the change but urged caution.
“I think it is a welcome step forward. I think we need to be very careful and cautious and make sure that everybody understands the implications and the risks that might be attached,” she told BBC Breakfast.
Visitors will need to take a coronavirus test before entry and will be required to wear PPE inside care homes. Although they can hold hands with their relatives, hugging and kissing will not be permitted.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said he was “pleased” that people could soon be “carefully and safely reunited with loved ones who live in care homes”.
Several newspapers have reported that outdoor family reunions could be allowed from April, with two households able to meet.
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