THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre is banning most visitors, beginning on Friday.
Dr. Stewart Kennedy, who heads the hospital's COVID-19 response team, on Thursday said there will be a few exceptions to the visitor lockdown, adding the move is necessary to try to keep the virus out of the facility as long as possible.
“Palliative care patients and labour and delivery patients with their husbands, but basically the message is no visitors will be allowed. Even their care partners are not going to be allowed at Thunder Bay Regional hospital,” Kennedy said,
“We have to prevent this virus from getting into Thunder Bay Regional hospital as best as we can.”
The hospital on Friday clarified the exact regulations.
A parent or guardian of a sick youth or child will also be allowed in, as well as the care partner of a patient undergoing surgery, until 4 p.m. the following day, is also exempt.
Kennedy acknowledged it won't be easy for patients, but they plan to institute measures to help ease the fact their family and friends won't be able to stop by while they're receiving care or recovering from treatment.
“We're having free phone service and free television for patients who are there in the room alone,” Kennedy said.
“We're also going to provide technology so they can bring their own technology and the patient can communicate with their loved ones. It's a different time, but what we're facing right now, we've never faced before.”
