The novel coronavirus "does not spread easily" on surfaces or objects, according to the CDC's updated website page.

Nashville, Tenn.-based AmSurg created a series of guidelines for ASCs restarting elective surgical procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association published a checklist for ASCs reopening to patients after COVID-19-related closures.

Valley Surgical Center in Northampton County is one of 6,066 Pennsylvania businesses exempt from mandated closures due to the pandemic, according to tnonline.com.

With Texas loosening elective procedure bans, North Dallas Ear Nose & Throat is already rescheduling procedures — but it will need to earn patients' trust to get volumes back up, The Dallas Morning News reports.

While infection control practices have contributed to declines in healthcare associated infections, the morbidity and mortality associated with these conditions remains significant. The bacteria Clostridium difficile (C. diff) is one of the most common healthcare associated infections (HAIs). Each year in the U.S. the pathogen causes more than 223,000 infections, contributing to approximately 12,800 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

A significant number of patients could be getting false negative results from COVID-19 tests, according to health experts interviewed by the Washington Examiner.

CMS is granting exceptions to Medicare quality reporting requirements to ease the burden on providers battling the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency announced March 22.

ASCs around the U.S. are turning their attention to supporting hospitals and frontline workers treating coronavirus patients.

Virginia Beach-based Urology of Virginia and its ASC installed polymer-copper surfaces designed to kill bacteria and viruses, including the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, according to local outlet WAVY TV 10.

  Alfonso del Granado, administrator of the Covenant High Plains Surgery Center in Lubbock, Texas, shares his thoughts and expertise on improving infection control in ASCs.

  ASCs are being used as screening stations for COVID-19 in Montana, South Carolina and Utah.

  Personal finance website WalletHub released its list ranking state responses to the COVID-19 epidemic in the U.S.

The Outpatient Ophthalmic Surgery Society is compiling resources and information for eye ASCs navigating the COVID-19 outbreak.

California's ASCs reported low rates of patient safety errors in 2018, according to a 2020 report by the California Health Care Foundation.

ASCs should follow best practices when establishing an infection prevention program, according to Sullivan Healthcare Consulting.

We are all aware of the high level of uncertainty that has marked the start of 2020.

Infection outbreak investigations are conducted differently in ASCs than they are in inpatient settings, where infection preventionists continuously monitor culture and other lab results, according to Terri Link, BSN.

Three recent ASC quality updates:

The Surgery Center of Fairfield County in Trumbull, Conn., completed a quality study examining how the center disposed of scalpels, needles, glass and hazardous waste.