April 7, 2021
Travel Guidance for Health Care Personnel
On April 7, 2021, the Indiana Department of Health (IDH) released updated Travel Guidance for Health Care Personnel based on the CDC’s Travel Guidance. The CDC defines travel as the use of public transportation (i.e., airplane, bus, train); although not specified in IDH’s Travel Guidance for Health Care Personnel, the activities at the location should also be taken into account even if the individual does not take public transportation to the location.

Under IDH’s updated Travel Guidance for Health Care Personnel, whether testing and/or self-quarantine is required is dependent on an individual’s vaccination status and whether the travel is domestic or international, as follows:
  • Fully Vaccinated Individuals: Fully vaccinated individuals are not required to get tested before domestic travel or self-quarantine after domestic travel.  However, for international travel, fully vaccinated individuals must have a negative COVID-19 test no more than 3 days before travel (or documentation that the individual has recovered from COVID-19 in the past 3 months) and receive a viral test three (3) to five (5) days after arrival.  The term “fully vaccinated” means 2 weeks after the second dose of a 2-dose series or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine.  The updated travel guidance does not specify a timeline for how long a person is considered “fully vaccinated.”
  • Unvaccinated Individuals:  Unvaccinated individuals, whether traveling domestically or internationally, should get tested 1 to 3 days before the trip.  When returning home, the individual should self-quarantine for either 7 or 10 days, depending on whether the individual uses a test-based strategy or time-based strategy.  Whether an individual quarantines for 7 or 10 days, the individual should still avoid being around those who are at increased risk for severe illness for 14 days.
    • Test-Based Strategy:  An unvaccinated individual should self-quarantine for 7 days if the individual receives a viral test 3 to 5 days upon returning home, and the test is negative.  If the test is positive, the individual should adhere to the Return to Work guidance.
    • Time-Based Strategy:  An unvaccinated individual should self-quarantine for 10 days if the individual does not receive a viral test upon returning home.  If the individual exhibits any signs or symptoms during that 10-day period, the individual should adhere to the Return to Work guidance.
It is recommended that when traveling and/or attending activities with individuals outside of your household to continue to mitigate COVID-19 risk by social distancing, wearing a mask and washing your hands.

Please note that the requirements of each destination may be different, as well as the requirements of local health departments upon return.

Click here to access LTC staff travel decision tree. 
ACCESS TRAVEL GUIDANCE ON IHCA.ORG
[NEW UPDATES] IDH Releases Updated Guidelines on Visitation, New Admissions, Excursions and More for LTCFs
On April 7, 2021, we updated this resource to reflect recent changes to the Visitation Guidelines, which now specify that fully vaccinated residents may participate in excursions over 24 hours in duration without having to be placed in transmission-based precautions for 14 days upon return if they remain asymptomatic and did not engage in high-risk exposure during the excursion that was over 24 hours in length. 

The updated Visitation Guidelines also clarify that visitation for compassionate care visits includes Essential Family Caregivers, and such visits should continue even if indoor visitation is otherwise restricted, regardless of a resident’s vaccination status, the county’s positivity rate, or an outbreak, even if the resident is in transmission-based precautions (i.e., Yellow or Red Unit).
ACCESS THIS RESOURCE
[NEW UPDATES] IDH Webinar for Long-Term Care Providers | April 8, 2021 | 12-1 p.m. EST
JOIN HERE
Other COVID-19 Updates & Resources
April 7: LTC Staff Travel Decision Tree
April 7: IDH's LTC Toolkit
April 6: COVID-19 Vaccine Data Reporting to NHSN
April 1: IDH Eye Protection Guidance 

VISIT COVID-19 INFORMATION HUB FOR MORE UPDATES
Questions?
Please contact:

Lori Davenport at ldavenport@ihca.org
Zach Cattell at zcattell@ihca.org
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