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By Peter Cox, Minnesota Public Radio News

For the first time since mid-March, outsiders will be allowed into Minnesota’s long-term care homes to visit residents.

The Minnesota Department of Health put out new guidance Friday that allows residents to designate one person, identified as an “essential caregiver,” to visit inside the residence and to have physical contact with them.

The guidance indicates those caregivers would likely be family members or “other, close outside caregivers.”

Those caregivers would be screened for COVID-19 symptoms, would need to follow social distancing guidelines in the home with staff and other residents and would be required to wear personal protective equipment, such as face masks, when inside the facility.

“The Minnesota Department of Health recognizes the importance of social distancing and physical separation to help keep residents safe,” the new guidance says.

“MDH also acknowledges the unintended consequences of prolonged physical separation and isolation on a resident’s overall health and well-being. Although technology can help decrease loneliness for some residents, technology is not a sustainable replacement for in-person contact.”

The state’s long-term care facilities — which include nursing homes and assisted living, among others — have been hit hard by COVID-19. About 78 percent of COVID-19 related deaths in Minnesota have been in long-term care.

But over the last several weeks, the number of deaths statewide and in long-term care have decreased. The state has implemented more residence-wide testing at facilities where COVID-19 has been an issue and has implemented other changes to help limit the spread of the virus.

At the same time, there has been a push by some to allow more visitation of residents, for whom isolation can have significant health impacts.

Gayle Kvenvold, the CEO of Leading Age Minnesota, an organization that represents senior care facilities in the state, said this new guidance helps address that.

“We’re not yet in a position where we can throw open our doors to regular visits and that’s because obviously COVID-19 is still very much a threat for our settings,” she said. “But it is an opportunity to provide emotional and psychological support to an elder, to a resident.”

Long-term care facilities are not required to implement the new guidance, but if they do, they are asked to develop a plan and guidance for designating essential caregivers and to put in place policies and procedures for how it will work.

Facilities have until July 25 to draft policies and prepare their programs, but they can also implement the program before then if they have policies and arrangements in place.

“Minnesota families have made great sacrifices to control the spread of COVID-19 in our long-term care facilities,” Gov. Tim Walz said in a statement. “I know this has been hard. But with this guidance, families will be able to reunite with their loved ones while continuing to protect the health of our elderly Minnesotans.”