Hospital eases COVID visitor policy
Collingwood General and Marine Hospital (CGMH) has made changes to its Pandemic Visitor policy introducing less restrictive measures, in relation to the loosening of provincial restrictions and a significant decrease in COVID-19 infections in the community.
Effective Tuesday, July 5 visitors to CGMH are able to ‘self-screen’ for symptoms of COVID-19. This is a change from Active screening, where visitors are posed a series of questions about their own health or possible exposure to COVID-19 prior to entering, to Passive screening, where visitors are asked to make that determination for themselves. Visitors who fail self-screening are asked not to enter the hospital.
Pandemic Support Assistants will remain at the front of the hospital from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. for a period of transition, to help visitors understand the new process and answer questions. Additionally, CGMH has aligned its visitor vaccination policy with that of many other hospitals. While the hospital strongly encourages vaccinations, proof is no longer required as a condition of entry for visitors. Under CGMH’s Pandemic Visitor policy, all inpatients and outpatients attending clinics or the emergency department, may have one visitor at a time with the exception of patients at end of life, OB/childbirth, paediatric, and critical illness in the ED/ICU, who may have two visitors, based on room capacity. Some restrictions may be applied to support infection control practices and patient care needs. In waiting rooms, visitors are to maintain two meters of space, where possible. If not possible, visitors are to maintain a minimum of one vacant seat of physical distance between groups. If the waiting room is very busy, visitors may be asked to wait outside the hospital until the patient is moved into the emergency room or outpatient clinic area. Universal masking remains in place throughout the hospital and visitors are to keep their hospital issued mask on at all times in patient rooms. No eating or drinking is permitted for visitors in patient rooms. Additionally, the food services area and cafeteria seating remains closed to the public at this time.
