Nursing Home Residents Protest Dem Governor's COVID Mandates Preventing Physical Contact
A group of seniors held a protest outside their Colorado nursing home on Thursday over coronavirus restrictions.
More than 20 residents and staff members gathered on the street for nearly two hours, KCNC reported.
Residents of Fairacres Manor, a nursing home and rehab facility, have been unable to physically touch their family members since the start of the pandemic.
In accordance with Colorado’s coronavirus mandates, visitors to the nursing home must remain 6 feet apart and wear face protection.
Staff and residents sent letters to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment earlier this year in hopes of loosening these restrictions, according to the Greeley Tribune.
Of the 95 residents, 16 reportedly contracted COVID-19. There has not been a known case since April among staff and residents, according to KCNC.
The protests were organized by residents Sharon Peterson and Josie Sanchez, according to the Greeley Tribune.
“We want to see our families. We miss the hugs. We don’t like the distancing anymore,” Peterson told the Greeley Tribune.
A sign held by one resident read “Rather die from COVID than loneliness.”
Nursing Home Residents In Greeley Protest COVID-19 Restrictions
“Rather die from COVID than loneliness,” one resident wrote on a sign for the protest. https://t.co/HxxJWeY66B pic.twitter.com/dd0wi0mNJe
— Anica Padilla (@AnicaPadilla) October 9, 2020
“Social interaction is essential to physical and mental health and so we have provided guidance to residential care facilities that allows for that interaction while also keeping residents safe from COVID-19,” Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Friday, according to The Hill.
Fairacres Manor did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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