As you may be aware, the national emergency and public health emergencies for COVID-19 are set to terminate on May 11, 2023. There are no updates to the QUAD A COVID-19 Decision Grid or standards at this time. Please continue with your current processes.
However, masking, screening, and pre-procedural testing are based on facility policy and are guided by local or state requirements along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Community Transmission Levels. Throughout the pandemic, local or state health departments required pre-procedural testing; we suggest that you reach out to your local and state health departments to verify whether any local, county, or state requirements remain in effect. QUAD A does not have an explicit pre-procedural testing requirement in place, but remember the strictest requirements prevail.
As we get closer to May 11th, QUAD A will communicate any updates to our COVID-19 standards and COVID-19 Decision Grid. Please be sure to watch for communications from us as to how this will affect the survey process. Until then, please be sure to update as necessary and follow your facility policies related to COVID-19 based on your Community Transmission Level along with local and state health authority requirements.
QUAD A’s COVID-19 Decision Grid provides infection prevention and control recommendations, but ultimately, your facility’s policies guide your procedures. You may update your facility infection prevention and control procedures based on community transmissions, but your facility policies must also reflect your contingency planning for periods in which your local transmission rate increases or decreases.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to submit them to standards@quada.org.