Hospital Shuts Emergency Room To Visitors

OCEANSIDE, NY — With Long Island approaching a 10 percent COVID-19 positivity rate, Mount Sinai South Nassau is reducing the amount of interaction in the hospital.

Effectively immediately, visitors will not be permitted at the Oceanside and Long Beach Emergency Departments, or at the hospital's Infusion Center.

Certain exceptions can be made for patients with developmental, intellectual or cognitive impairment; end of life care or when necessary for medical treatment.

One healthy parent or caregiver can accompany a pediatric patient to the Emergency Departments.

The new policy will stay in place until further notice, a hospital spokesperson said.

In other parts of the hospital, guests will also see changes.

Most notably, the medical/surgical and critical care units will allow one healthy adult visitor per day between noon and 6 p.m.

All visitors must be 18 or older and must show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test result within 72 hours. They will also need to fill out a COVID-19 screening questionnaire and have a mask on at all times in the hospital.

Additionally, visitors to Mount Sinai South Nassau will need to show a valid government photo ID.

One other change the hospital is putting into place temporarily: visitors must stay in the patient's room unless asked to step out by a staff member.

Patients who are suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 may not have visitors.