OSHA Offers Nursing Home Respirator Guidance as Infections Climb

OSHA has issued new respiratory-protection guidance focused on shielding workers in nursing homes, assisted living, and other long-term care facilities from occupational exposure to Covid-19.

The guidance comes as long-term care facilities bear the brunt of federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations and facilities across the nation grapple with rising infection numbers. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 268,707 nursing-home residents have been infected and 61,765 have died of Covid-19.

The guidance recommends nursing-home workers use a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health-approved N95 respirator or a higher-level model when in close contact with Covid-19-positive ...