COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

THE JOHN A. WILSON BUILDING

1350 PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE, NW
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20004

April 1, 2021

LaQuandra S. Nesbitt MD, MPH

Director, D.C. Department of Health
899 North Capitol Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002

Dear Dr. Nesbitt:

I am writing because I have been receiving a steady stream of requests from residents of District nursing
homes and assisted living facilities, as well as their families, who are angry and frustrated that the
Department of Health’s (DC Health) COVID restrictions are not being appropriately updated, even
though many facilities have over ninety percent of residents vaccinated. Of particular concern is that
current DC Health guidelines prohibit residents from congregating with each other; limit having more
than one family member visit a senior at a facility at any one time; and require residents who travel off
site to be with family and friends or attend religious services to then endure isolation for fourteen days
in quarantine. Their experience is especially frustrating after more than a year of continued lockdown
for them as many are currently celebrating Passover, the Easter holiday is a quickly approaching this
Sunday, and Ramadan begins in less than two weeks. The ability to attend religious services and visit
family during Holy Week and Ramadan is immeasurably important to the spiritual and emotional well-
being of our seniors.

Thanks to the hard work of DC Health, seniors living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities were
prioritized and vaccinated in January and February because these seniors were especially vulnerable to
both the virus and a heightened transmission risk from staff who returned daily to their homes and
communities. Since many of these facilities now have resident vaccination rates well above ninety
percent, the initial reasoning for these restrictions is no longer justified. DC Health’s restrictions for
these seniors do not match the updated CDC guidelines or even the Department’s own guidance for
others who have been fully vaccinated.

The science around COVID-19 and vaccinations has developed, and we now know that there is a
significantly lower risk that a fully vaccinated senior will experience a serious reaction or be able to
spread the virus. In a recent tweet from DC Health on March 30th, the Department provided that
vaccinated people can freely visit with other vaccinated people or low-risk unvaccinated people,
unmasked. The concerns were primarily for those visiting unvaccinated people who were high risk, in
which case a mask and social distancing was recommended.

I request that DC Health immediately update the following restrictions on an emergency basis for
facilities that have achieved over ninety percent rates of resident vaccination by this upcoming weekend,
and then consider making these permanent policy adjustments:

• A fully vaccinated resident should not be required to quarantine for fourteen days when they
leave the facility. This is especially problematic for residents who must leave a facility for
medical appointments or who want to leave a facility to attend church or visit family.
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 • Fully vaccinated residents should be permitted to have more than one visitor at a time, and
visitation should not be monitored and regulated. This will allow family members to share in the
joy of the holiday together.

• Residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities have endured over a year of isolation.
Guidance should be updated to allow fully vaccinated residents to socialize in common areas of
these facilities again.

DC Health has generally done an excellent job of addressing the changing landscape of the public health
emergency by issuing new guidelines as more people become vaccinated in order to safely reopen the
District of Columbia. However, the requirements for nursing homes and assisted living facilities have
not kept pace to reflect the current reality. I am happy to meet with you today or tomorrow if you would
like to discuss this further. I know you are meeting with the owners of the nursing homes and assisted
living facilities next Tuesday, but if you are considering lifting any of these restrictions in the near future,
I would strongly urge that you relax these requirements by Friday, April 2, 2021 to allow fully
vaccinated seniors in nursing homes and assisted living facilities to celebrate Easter and the end of
Passover with family.

Sincerely,

Vincent C. Gray

Cc: Councilmembers of the District of Columbia

Muriel Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia
Wayne Turnage, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services
Kevin Donahue, City Administrator
John Falcicchio, Chief of Staff, Executive Office of the Mayor