The Life Care Center nursing home, where some residents have died from the novel coronavirus, is pictured in Kirkland, Washington on March 5. Credit: Jason Redmond/AFP/Getty Images

Relatives and friends should not visit patients in nursing and assisted living centers as the coronavirus outbreak continues to spread, the head of the United States' largest association of long-term and post-acute care providers told CNN.

"We are encouraging all people, including family members and loved ones, to not visit nursing homes and assisted living facilities," American Health Care Association President Mark Parkinson said Tuesday.

"Until we get this under control, our new guidance, as of today, is to family members, to loved ones: Don't visit the facilities; instead, come up with an alternate way to communicate," he said, including phone, text, FaceTime or Snapchat.