Of course, this comes with restrictions, because what doesn't anymore, but as of Wednesday, Governor Whitmer rolled back restrictions that were on hospitals for capacity; meaning patients not being allowed to have visitors due to COVID-19 concerns.
Detroit Free Press reports that you can now visit your friends and family in the hospital as well as accompany family members to doctor appointments and outpatient clinics.
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director, Robert Gordon, had a pretty cool statement in the Detroit Free Press of why it is important to loosen the restrictions,
"Sometimes a visitor can be just the medicine a hospitalized patient needs to help them through their recovery. As long as strong precautions are taken to help ensure the health and safety of visitors, patients, and staff, this order allows for exceptions to those restrictions.”
There are precautions and restrictions that have to be followed by both hospitals and people entering the hospitals, as set forth from the MDHHS which includes,
  • Limit the entry of visitors so they can be to screened in advance.
  • Post signs at the entrance explaining visitors will be assessed for symptoms of COVID-19. Anyone with symptoms of a respiratory infection, including, but not limited to, fever, cough or shortness of breath may not enter the facility.
  • Perform a health evaluation each time a visitor seeks entry, and turn away those individuals who do not meet the evaluation criteria.
  • Strongly discourage visitors at high risk of developing severe complications from COVID-19, including older adults and people with underlying medical conditions.
  • Restrict visitation to the patient’s room or other designated locations.
  • Require visitors who are medically able to wear a mask or other cloth face covering for the duration of their visit, and swiftly remove from the facility visitors who fail to abide by this requirement.
  • For in-patient stays, make available on-site and off-site alternatives to in-person visits, such as video or audio calls.
  • Refuse visitors during aerosol-generating procedures or during the collection of respiratory specimens unless deemed necessary by hospital staff for the care and well-being of the patient.
  • Permit visitation only during select hours and limit the number of visitors per resident.

 

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