As COVID numbers improve, RI hospitals ease visitation rules

PROVIDENCE — In another encouraging sign that the pandemic is easing, Lifespan, the state's largest health care system, on Wednesday announced that it is easing visitation policies at its hospitals. Effective Wednesday:

• Visitation hours at Rhode Island Hospital are now 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Hours at other Lifespan hospitals are not changed.

• At Rhode Island Hospital, "adult inpatients may have two visitors at a time, with a limit of six identified visitors for the duration of the hospital stay." At Miriam and Newport, "adult inpatients may have two visitors per visitation session." And, Lifespan said, "Adult inpatients in behavioral health units may continue to have one visitor at a time."

• At Hasbro Children's, patients may have "two identified visitors in addition to two parents and/or caregivers for a total of four identified visitors. Two may enter at a time; one parent or caregiver may remain overnight, 8 p.m. to 8 a.m."

All Lifespan hospitals require vaccination or negative test result

• All Lifespan hospitals require "proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative PCR COVID test result at visitor screening."

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Roger Williams, Fatima, Kent

At Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, meanwhile, "we have progressively relaxed visitor guidelines over the last few weeks," spokesman Otis Brown told The Journal. "This is a positive reflection on declining COVID cases and hospitalizations."

According to Brown, visitors are allowed from noon to 8 p.m. "Patients are limited to two visitors at a time," Brown said. "We are also allowing one companion per patient for all outpatient department services, including the Emergency Department. Behavioral health units have also returned to normal visiting hours as observed prior to the most recent surge. All existing COVID-19 precautions are to be strictly maintained and followed, including masking for all visitors."

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Care New England visitation policies

Care New England last week made changes in visitation policies to its Kent Hospital. They include:

• One visitor to a patient in the Intensive Care Unit is allowed from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., but "confirmed or suspected COVID patients may not have visitors. The care team may make exceptions to these restrictions based on individual patient care needs."

• Similar exceptions may also be made in other inpatient units, where one visitor to a patient at a time is permitted from 10 a.m. to noon, and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The full regulations are at www.carenewengland.org/coronavirus/kent-hospital-restrictions/?hsLang=en

Visitation polices at CNE's Butler and Women & Infants Hospitals can be found at www.carenewengland.org/hs-search-results?term=visitation

Westerly Hospital's policies are at https://www.westerlyhospital.org/patients-visitors/visiting-a-patient

State-run Slater Hospital's policy of Jan. 28 remains in effect: https://bhddh.ri.gov/eleanor-slater-hospital/esh-visitation-policy

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COVID by the numbers

Cases in R.I.: 356,436 (341 reported Wednesday)

Negative tests in R.I.: 7,068,266 (11,272 reported Wednesday; 2.9% positive rate)

R.I. COVID-related deaths: 3,413 (0 reported Wednesday)

Rhode Islanders hospitalized with COVID: 114 (9 in intensive care)

Fully vaccinated in R.I.: 817,156 (937,846 at least partially vaccinated)

Cases in Mass.: 1,672,594

Mass. COVID-related deaths: 23,488

Cases in U.S.: 79,101,162

U.S. COVID-related deaths: 952,867