The California Department of Health has issued a new All Facilities Letter (AFL) providing recommendations for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), resident placement/movement, and staffing in skilled nursing facilities based on residents' COVID-19 status. Facilities must place confirmed COVID-19 positive residents in a dedicated "red" area and group other residents into three separate cohorts: COVID-19 positive, COVID-19 exposed within the last 14 days, and COVID-19 negative without known exposure within the last 14 days or recovered residents. The COVID-19 positive cohort should be housed separately and have dedicated healthcare personnel (HCP) who do not provide care for residents in other cohorts. Private rooms should be prioritized for new admissions and symptomatic residents while test results are pending. The color-designations are not fixed, static locations but define the residents' exposure status and the necessary PPE for HCP. Facilities should refer to the "COVID-19 PPE, Resident Placement/Movement, and Staffing Considerations by Resident Category" chart for further guidance.

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