North East Lincolnshire care home boss backs easing of Covid restrictions
Care home residents no longer need to self-isolate when they return from a visit.
The managing director of a North East Lincolnshire care home has backed a relaxation of Covid restrictions for care home residents.
They'll now be able to visit friends and family overnight without having to quarantine for 14 days on their return.
It's part of the easing of coronavirus restrictions in England - with rules also changing for funeral wakes and marriage celebrations.
Today was supposed to be the day when all restrictions were eased in England - but it's been moved to the 19th of July.
Paul de Savary, managing director at The Old Vicarage care home in Stallingborough, said: "If you have a learning disability or autism, to have a one-off meeting for a few hours and not have an overnight stay, for a lot of people it's just impossible - they can't handle or process that.
"I think this easing of restrictions has been a long time coming. These are individuals who have had two vaccinations, staff have had two vaccinations; damage is being done to them around mental health, injuries to staff and to themselves, and it's causing distress for families.
The changes come with an increasing use of PCR Covid tests, something Mr de Savary said he supported: "I think the testing has been fantastic because it gives a sense of surety, and more importantly, it gives the government and Public Health England data that they can use - it's a currency of information, so it's got to be considered very good."