(March 5, 2020) - On March 4, 2020, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a memo to State Survey Agency Directors regarding the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in nursing homes.

In the memo, CMS provided guidance to nursing homes regarding the admission, monitoring, and discharge of residents with respiratory illnesses, as well as citing authority for restricting visitations.

In addition, CMS encouraged all nursing homes to monitor the CDC website for information, and to contact their local health department if they have questions or suspect a case of COVID-19.

Links to additional CMS and CDC resources were provided in the memo, which can be found here.

You can also read CMS' press release about the memo here.

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