As of Wednesday morning, most visitors will again be barred from all three Windsor-Essex healthcare systems.
Beginning at 12:01 a.m., visitors will not be allowed under most circumstances at both the Ouellette and Metropolitan campuses of Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH), Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare (HDGH) in west Windsor, and Erie Shores Hospital in Leamington. The move is being made as COVID-19 cases continue to rise, and outbreaks have been reported at the WRH Ouellette campus and HDGH.
"This difficult decision is intended as a precaution to keep patients, families and our health care teams safe as transmission rates rise and risk a crisis point for hospitals," read a media release posted on the official WRH website. "High patient volumes throughout our system and reduced bed capacity are challenging the entire regional health care system and we must do what we can to limit the opportunity for further spread of the COVID-19 virus."
There are very limited exceptions to the no-visitor rule at all three hospital systems. At WRH, these include one designated person for patients in end-of-life care, one support person for a woman in labour, or one parent or guardian for an ill or injured youth.
At HDGH, visitors are limited to two people for patients in palliative care.
"Patients who require end-of-life care and who are actively dying as defined by the clinical team may have two visitors present at any given time," according to the HDGH website. "Those who are not actively dying are permitted to one visitor. This visitor must remain the same person."
The latest exemption policy on visitors at Erie Shores Healthcare can be found on its official website.