UNC Health joins Duke and WakeMed in lifting hospital visitor restrictions
Children can resume visiting inpatient areas and waiting rooms at Triangle-area UNC Health facilities starting Monday, as the health care system joins fellow local hospitals in lifting age-based restrictions implemented to lessen the winter spread of respiratory illnesses.
Since Jan. 2, UNC Health has prohibited visitors 11 and younger from inpatient areas. In a statement Friday, UNC Health cited “decreasing hospital admissions for influenza, RSV, and COVID-19” for ending this restriction.
UNC Health said the new visitation policy will be in effect for its hospitals in Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, UNC Health Rex in Raleigh and Holly Springs, as well as UNC Health Chatham in Siler City. Other facilities within the system implement their own visitor policies based on local trends.
Duke Health removed its age-based visitor restriction on March 5, also pointing to “a significant decrease of respiratory illness in the Triangle.” In contrast to UNC Health, Duke had focused on limiting older hospital visitors by preventing more than two people age 12 and older from visiting at one time. On March 18, WakeMed relaxed its visitation policy to again permit youth visitors under 12.
Age-based visitor restrictions are common during peak flu season, explained UNC Health spokesperson Alan Wolf.
“The pandemic threw things off a little, but the past two years have been back to that seasonal pattern,” he said in an email. “We try to avoid draconian visitor restrictions because we know that family and loved ones help the healing process.”
This story was originally published March 22, 2024 at 10:22 AM.
