PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Two health care facilities in Rhode Island have allowed staff who tested positive for COVID-19 but were not displaying symptoms to work, according to state health officials.

The state health department said Monday that Jan. 3 was the last time the state-run Eleanor Slater Hospital had asymptomatic, COVID-19-positive staff on site. The Respiratory and Rehabilitation Center of Rhode Island also used asymptomatic staff on Jan. 3, but hasn’t since, health officials said.

There is currently a coronavirus outbreak at the psychiatric hospital, where 28 patients has tested positive as of last week, but state officials say it's not connected to the asymptomatic workers.

The workers were limited to areas with COVID-19-positive patients, with one exception, according to the state Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals.

In that case, the asymptomatic employee worked with patients who did not have the virus. There have been no cases reported among those patients, the department added.

Two asymptomatic staff members worked at Eleanor Slater Hospital on Jan. 1 and three worked Jan. 3, according to the department. The decision is consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that allows hospitals facing significant staffing challenges to use asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic workers, officials said.

While the hospital does not currently need to use staff who tested positive, it will follow CDC guidelines if the need arises in the future, the behavioral health care department said Monday. Unlike other hospitals, Eleanor Slater cannot get staff from another part of the hospital to care for patients or send patients to other hospitals because of staffing challenges, it added.