Committee debate over bill to remove COVID testing requirement for long-term care centers grows heated

A state representative presented House Bill 645 to a Georgia House committee, saying the measure would repeal a pandemic-era requirement that long-term care facilities test new move-ins and new hires for COVID-19.

The sponsor said the change would be a "return to normalcy" and that state regulators and providers already rely on physician evaluations and longstanding infection-control policies, including tuberculosis screening. "This is just a simple return to normalcy," the bill's sponsor said when presenting the measure.

Why it matters: The bill targets a testing requirement that was added during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Supporters told the committee the requirement is not currently enforced and that removing the statutory testing mandate would let providers focus on broader infection‑control work and ease staffing…