CMS Requirements for Staff COVID-19 Testing
On March 10, 2022, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released a revised QSO-20-38-NH memo regarding long-term care facility testing requirements. NYSHFA|NYSCAL had a call with the NYS Department of Health, and while a DAL is forthcoming, want to advise all providers they should be following this updated testing guidance immediately.
The new guidance separates individuals who are “up-to-date with all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses” (i.e., having received a booster dose in addition to the primary series) versus being “fully vaccinated” (i.e., having received the one- or two-dose primary series).
Please note this updated guidance will have an effect on the number of staff requiring routine testing. Facilities should use their community transmission level as the trigger for staff testing frequency. Reports of COVID-19 level of community transmission are available on the CDC COVID-19 Integrated County View site: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#countyview.
Testing of staff that are NOT up-to-date with all recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses must be routinely tested as noted in the table below:
Table 2: Routine Testing Intervals by County COVID-19 Level of Community Transmission
| Level of COVID-19 Community Transmission | Minimum Testing Frequency of Staff who are not up-to-date |
| Low (blue) | Not recommended |
| Moderate (yellow) | Once a week |
| Substantial (orange) | Twice a week |
| High (red) | Twice a week |
NYSHFA/NYSCAL CONTACTS:
Jackie Pappalardi, RN, BSN
Executive Director
518-462-4800 x16
Lisa Volk, RN, B.P.S., LNHA
Director, Clinical & Quality Services
518-462-4800 x15
