Chile will relax restrictions meant to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in some elderly care facilities, Chilean First Lady Cecilia Morel said on Thursday.
Starting Oct. 12, elderly care facilities located in communities that are out of quarantine and are in Phase 2 reopening and onward will be open to visitors twice a week, with a maximum of two visitors permitted per resident, Morel said at a press conference.
Visitors to the facilities are required to obtain a health passport, she added.
It is estimated that the new measures will affect about 22,000 older adults throughout the country along with 18,000 caregivers and other workers in the field.
The Ministry of Health reported on Thursday that 1,575 new COVID-19 cases were detected in the last 24 hours, bringing the national total to 476,016, while the death toll reached 13,167 after 77 more deaths were reported.
