Long Island hospitals are reevaluating their visitation policies as Covid-19 cases surge in the region, with some facilities choosing to suspend visitations.
Mount Sinai South Nassau announced on Tuesday that it will not permit visitors in its emergency units in Oceanside and Long Beach or in the Oceanside hospital’s infusion center. Pediatric emergency patients are allowed one, healthy adult parent or caregiver visitor. Visitors to the hospital must show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test result within the past 72 hours, and Covid-19 patients may not have visitors.
Hospital officials called the measure “a proactive response to the rise of Covid cases in the community coming to the hospital for emergency or inpatient care and in order to maintain a safe environment for our patients, their visitors, and hospital employees.”
Each of Northwell Health’s Long Island hospitals are also reevaluating their visitation policies. According to a Northwell spokesperson, Huntington Hospital and South Shore University Hospital will suspend visitations on Thursday Dec. 23, and Glen Cove also on Thursday but with an exception for palliative care. Long Island Jewish Medical and North Shore University Hospital will not permit visitors beginning Sunday, Dec. 26.
A spokesperson noted that each facility “considers the health and safety of everyone in the building as well as conditions in the communities they serve to determine visitations.
“That said, some of our 19 hospitals have made a determination to limit visitations going forward. Others have not,” he added. “These standards are evaluated on a weekly – and sometimes daily – basis. With Covid-19 cases rising once again, our facilities will remain vigilant to protect both patients and staff.
Long Island’s Covid-19 positivity rate on a seven-day average is nearly 11%. Suffolk County announced yesterday that its positivity rate is nearly 14%.
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