Starting Saturday, hospitals in Kingston will be implementing even more strict visitation rules to protect patients and staff from contracting the novel coronavirus.
Earlier this week, the Kingston Health Sciences Centre, which oversees both Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu, announced new visitation protocol to help protect against the virus, like limiting access to hospitals to select entrances, screening visitors for signs of COVID-19 and travel history, and limiting visitors to one per patient.
As of Satuday, Kingston Health Sciences Centre is asking that only “essential visitors” visit their loved ones in the hospital.
The centre has defined “essential visitors” as those who have a loved one who is dying or very ill, a parent or guardian of a child or youth, those who are visiting a patient undergoing surgery or a woman giving birth.
People with cognitive or mobility difficulties can also be accompanied by the same one person in the emergency pepartment or urgent care centre.
“These further restrictions are needed to protect our staff and patients as the pandemic continues to rapidly evolve,” says Dr. David Pichora, Kingston Health Sciences Centre CEO.
Screening of visitors will continue, and those who may appear at risk for spreading the virus will not be permitted to enter either Kingston General Hospital or Hotel Dieu Hospital.