Vaccine mandate coming for designated family caregivers at Manitoba personal care homes

Family members designated as caregiversfor residents at Manitoba personal care homes will soon need to be fully vaccinated to visit with their loved ones in their rooms, the province says.

Starting on Nov. 15, designated family caregivers will have to show proof of vaccination before they enter a personal care home, Shared Health said in a statement sent to CBC Saturday.

A Shared Health spokesperson says the new policy, intended to protect residents from COVID-19,is due to anincrease of casesin the province.

Any designated caregiver who is not fully vaccinated, or refuses to disclose their vaccination status at the care home, will still be able to visit with a resident, butwill have to follow certain guidelines.

They will have to book an appointment to visit their family member and meet ina visitation shelter or a designated visitation room, rather than in their family member's room.

Current personal care home visitation guidelines stipulate that designated family caregivers must wear personal protective equipment, sign in and out when visiting, and be screened before they're admitted.

They are allowed to visit their family member in their room without making an appointment, for any length of time.

Shared Health says personal care homes are continuing to make every effort to maintain recreation and social activities for residents, while also working to protectthem from COVID-19.

As of Friday, the last time the data was updated, 87.1 per cent of eligible Manitobans have at least one dose of the vaccine and 84 per cent have two doses, the province's vaccine dashboard says.