Starting November 14, the requirement of one visitor at a time for each resident of residential care homes (RCHs) will be lifted, while the RCHs may arrange group outings for residents under closed-loop arrangements.

The Social Welfare Department today said it has taken into consideration that most staff members and residents of the RCHs have received COVID-19 vaccination, as well as the benefits of visits and social activities to the residents' physical and mental well-being.

After consulting the health authorities, it decided to implement appropriate relaxation of the RCHs' visiting and group outings arrangements.

With the relaxation on the number of visitors for each resident at a time, the care homes should review the actual circumstances and appropriately set the number of visitors for each resident and the total number of visitors at any one time to avoid overcrowding.

All visitors must continue to comply with the vaccination requirements under the Vaccine Pass. They are also required to undergo nucleic acid tests within 48 hours prior to the visit and provide negative test results in order to visit the care homes.

Meanwhile, RCHs can arrange group outings for residents by adopting closed-loop arrangements, provided that stringent and effective disease prevention measures are in place.

Dedicated transport should be provided for residents to travel to the designated locations and return to the RCHs as a group under the guidance of the care home staff and in accordance with the pre-arranged itineraries and schedule.

In addition, the care homes should ensure that participating residents strictly comply with the infection prevention and social distancing measures. Crowded destinations and mask-off activities, such as eating or drinking, should also be avoided.