Lahey Hospital Imposes Visitor Restrictions For Coronavirus

BURLINGTON, MA — The Lahey Hospital and Medical Center has imposed visitor restrictions in response to the new coronavirus outbreak. All visitors will be barred except in special circumstances with approval from the clinical team caring for the patient. For those exceptions, patients will be limited to at most one visitor, and all visitors will be screened for the illness, also known as COVID-19.

Risk factors that can result in a visitor being barred include cold or flu-like symptoms, travel in the last 14 days to a high-risk area, or exposure in the last 14 days to someone diagnosed with the new virus.

Suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients will not be allowed any visitors, the hospital said.

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Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that include the common cold as well as much more serious diseases. The strain that emerged in China in late 2019, now called COVID-19, is related to others that have caused serious outbreaks in recent years, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the U.S. was on Jan. 21.

The disease, which apparently originated in animals, is now transferring from person to person, although the mechanism is not yet fully understood. Its symptoms include fever, coughing and shortness of breath, and many patients develop pneumonia. There is as yet no vaccine against COVID-19 it and no antiviral treatment.

According to the CDC, the best way of preventing the disease is to avoid close contact with people who are sick, to avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, to wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, and to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol if soap and water are not available.

To avoid spreading any respiratory illness, the CDC recommends staying at home when you are sick, covering your cough or sneeze with a tissue and throwing the tissue in the trash, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.