Ohio State health care facilities will start limiting the number of visitors per patient Sunday. Credit: Amal Saeed | Photo Editor
All Ohio State health care facilities will limit the number of visitors patients can receive starting Sunday.
“Due to ongoing concerns about novel coronavirus (COVID-19), The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has implemented new visitor restrictions to ensure the health and safety of our patients, their families and our staff,” a press release from the Wexner Medical Center reads.
Patients in emergency departments and those in outpatient care facilities — including surgeries, procedures and office visits — will be limited to one visitor or support person in the building. Hospitalized patients are also limited to one visitor and their visitor cannot be in the building between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., according to the press release. Visitors to hospitalized patients must be older than 16 years.
Hospitalized patients can have more than one visitor in “end-of-life” situations, and patients under 18 years old can have two visitors who are their parents or guardians, according to the press release. Patients with “significant physical disabilities” can have one visitor and one support person.
All visitors will be screened for symptoms of COVID-19, travel history and potential exposure to the viral disease, according to the release.
The first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Columbus, Ohio, at a press conference Saturday. According to the Ohio Department of Health’s website, 26 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Ohio since Monday, and more than 260 people are being tested.
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