HALIFAX -- Beginning Monday, visits can start back up at long-term care facilities in Nova Scotia, exactly three months after they were shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"My mom and I just spoke on the phone and she's really keen for us to get back together, but she's like me, she wants to do this cautiously and with the right protocols,” said Barbara Meens Thistle, whose mother lives at Northwood.

"She's managed to make it through 90 days of being in her room so, she too wants us to move slowly to make sure she's safe and that the staff stays safe and that I stay safe."

Meens Thistle is now waiting for an email from Northwood with a date and the protocol for the visit.

"From what I understand, the visits are 30 minutes," said Meens Thistle. "They'll start off with one family at a time in the courtyard but there's also criteria that the clinical leaders will determine which of the residents are well enough to sit up in a wheelchair, be able to go and have a visit, so I imagine that will take some time."

The Magnolia was the first long-term care facility in Nova Scotia to have a confirmed case of COVID-19. The facility was quickly able to contain the virus and is excited for residents to reconnect with their families.

"I think there might be quite a few tears, tears of joy. I think it's been a long road for them, basically since mid-March, they haven't seen their loved ones so I think it will be definitely uplifting for their spirits and for the staff," said Tracey Tulloch, spokesperson for Rosecrest Communities.

Tulloch expects to welcome the first visitors back to The Magnolia at the end of June.

"There will be a barrier. Be it a fence or a plastic sort of material in between and yes, there will be distance markers and there will be a staff accompanying the resident for the whole visit to ensure the six feet barrier is maintained. And also, it's a limit of two people per visit, so one resident can have two family members or two people visiting," she said.

On Wednesday, Premier Stephen McNeil announced visits could resume at long-term care facilities, provided they happen outdoors.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has been challenging for all of us, but in many ways, it has been hardest on our seniors in nursing homes and those living in homes for persons with disabilities," said McNeil. "That's why we are easing visitor restrictions while keeping many of our public health directives in place to protect our most vulnerable."

"I can only imagine how tough it has been for long-term care residents and participants in homes for persons with disabilities to not be able to connect with their loved ones," said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health. "Outdoor visits are a way to bring residents and their friends and families back together safely."

Besides having the visits outside, some of the measures that will be in place for both resident and visitor safety include a maximum of two visitors at one time, maintaining a physical distance of two metres or six feet and being screened for COVID-19 upon entry.

Visitors must also wear a non-medical mask during their time at the facility.

Although they feel visits are needed, the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union already has concerns.

"The issues I think are around what workload this is going to create, because we know long-term care facilities are understaffed, but also the issues involved around having staff there to police the visits,” said NSGEU President Jason MacLean.

He also has questions about how the supply of personal protective equipment, or PPE, will be impacted when visits resume.

CUPE says the provincial government gave no notice to long-term care facilities that visits would resume and also doesn’t know how staff will juggle more work.

"It's just here, you can visit, make it work. These are the rules, you make that work. I don't know how they're supposed to make that work. There's just, there's not enough staff. A small long-term care facility might have one recreation worker and they'll have one CCA for every eight residents, when exactly is it you want them managing the visits?" said president Nan McFadgen.

In addition to easing some visitor restrictions in long-term care homes, homes for persons with disabilities in Nova Scotia will also resume visits next week.