Grand River, Guelph General hospitals reduce visitor access as local COVID-19 cases surge

Starting Friday, Grand River Hospital in Kitchener will be scaling back how many people can visit patients.

Each patient will be allowed one designated care partner who will be allowed to visit for two hours each day. The care partners must be fully vaccinated with at least two doses.

"Exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis by the manager of the area where the patient is receiving care," Cheryl Evans, communications manager with the hospital, told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo.

"There may be programs and services that apply different care partner guidelines due to the specialized needs of their patients," the email said, noting the children's program could be one of those areas where there are different rules.

Record high case count

The restrictionscomeafter Region of Waterloo Public Health reported a record high232 cases in a single day on Thursday. Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health reported 162 new cases on Thursday.

Guelph General Hospital said it was changing its policy as of Thursday to allowone essential visitor per patient for the duration of their stay.

Melissa Skinner, vice president of patient services and chief nursing executive of the hospital, said in a release that the decision to restrict visitors was not one made easily, especially just before Christmas.

"Given the transmission risk of the Omicron variant and the rapid increase in community cases, it's a necessary step to help ensure the safety of both patients and our staff," Skinner said.

The hospital also has a COVID-19outbreakon its 4 East unit after two patients and one staff member tested positive for the virus.The outbreak was the first one in more than seven months at the hospital.

Cambridge, St. Mary's hospitals

There's no change to visitor policies at Cambridge Memorial Hospital or St. Mary's General Hospital in Kitchener.

At Cambridge, visitors must book a time to go in to see a patient. When needed, the hospital can check the number of visitors.

"This is reviewed on a weekly basis and adjusted accordingly," said hospital spokespersonStephan Beckoff."We also offer virtual visits for those who cannot or do not want to go to hospital."

At St. Mary's General, the ongoing policy during the pandemic has been that each patient is allowed up to two people who can be care partners. Each patient can have one care partner visit a day for up to two hours.