By Jerry Bellune
JweeyBellune@yahoo.com
Gov. Henry McMaster aims to let families visit nursing homes in Lexington County and elsewhere.
Residents of SC's 194 nursing homes and 507 assisted living facilities will be able to visit with their loved ones again — but only outside — under guidelines announced Tuesday.
In-person, outdoor visits can resume once these facilities meet criteria laid out by the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. 
The criteria include mask requirements for visitors and residents and temperature checks for visitors.
90 nursing homes have already qualified. 

Jennifer Wilson of Lexington Medical Center said they hope to begin visits at Extended Care in 2 weeks,

31 nursing homes have only had 1 case in the last 14 days and may soon meet this criteria.
Visits may not happen immediately but only when facilities are prepared and have met requirements.
Family members with documents showing negative test results may visit for an hour. Those without can visit for only 15 minutes,
For visits to begin, facilities must screen residents and staff daily for symptoms and have no cases among residents or staff within 14 days. 
The facility must also have adequate staffing and personal protective equipment, according to DHEC.
Visitation in the state's nursing homes has been halted since March because of the coronavirus pandemic. 
Families have made do with "window visits" to loved ones from parking lots and used video calls to stay connected.
McMaster said the weeks without visitors hurt some of the state's most vulnerable residents and their families.
"As expected, this separation and isolation has caused loneliness, depression, stress and anxiety among residents, and has frustrated those worried about a parent, grandparent or other loved one's well-being," McMaster said. 
The virus has infected more than 117,000 South Carolinians and contributed to the deaths of more than 2,500 people statewide.
It has infected 4,887 people who live in one of South Carolina's nursing homes or assisted living facilities.
1,011 residents of them have died, according to DHEC. 
Another 2,506 staff members of those long-term care facilities have been infected by COVID-19, and 18 of them have died.