Cary, N.C. — Families and advocates of residents living in long-term care facilities are expressing concern over the increase in COVID-19 cases across the state.
Around this time last year, loved ones of long-term care facilities had to peek through a window or drive-by because of visitation restrictions in place.
State health officials lifted them back in May, but with COVID-19 cases on the rise, families said they fear these visitation rights will be taken once again.
Before the pandemic, Phil Wells traveled from Wilmington to Wake Forest to visit his mother every weekend.
"We'd have lunch [and] we'd go shopping all the time. We'd go to dinner on Saturday," described Wells.
His mother, Rosalee, is 94 and lives with dementia at a senior living facility.
Weekend visits came to a halt when visitations were barred back in March of 2020 due to the pandemic.
"The period of the lockdown was very tough on my mother," said Wells.
Now, advocates said they fear facilities will close to visitors again.
"We are very concerned about the Delta variant and the numbers here in North Carolina that are trending in the wrong direction," said Lauren Zingraff, the executive director for Friends of Residents in Long-Term Care, which advocates for long-term care residents.
Wells said he's also worried about facilities, like the one his mother is in, closing their doors to visitors.
"It's very scary. It's scary on many levels, just with the Delta variant out there, but oh goodness, are we going to go through this all over again?" Wells said.
Zingraff said visitation policies are contingent upon the COVID-19 positivity rate being under 10 percent in a given county.
She added that she hoped to avoid a repeat of what residents went through last year by preventing their loved ones from seeing them.
"There was another pandemic that was occurring at the same time, and that was a pandemic of loneliness," said Zingraff. "That was a pandemic of depression. That was a pandemic of social isolation. That was a pandemic of severe sadness and heartbreak.
Zingraff said the emotional toll from isolation took a toll on long-term care residents.
"Our elder adults get to the point where they stop eating, they stop drinking, they don't want to get out of bed anymore, they don't want to get dressed anymore [and] they're not engaged anymore," she described.
Data from the state Department of Health and Human Services showed 84 percent of people age 65 and older are fully vaccinated.
While the majority of long-term care residents have received their doses, Well said he hopes there aren't anymore outbreaks.
"There's always that risk [and] always that possibility," he said. "That's pretty scary."
Advocates are now pushing for state lawmakers to pass House Bill 351, or" Clifford’s Law," which will ensure that long-term care residents have a minimal number and frequency of visitors.
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