Visitor limits kick in as hospitals move to limit flu spread
With hundreds of flu cases in North Carolina hospitals and the season yet to peak, area hospitals are moving to try and limit the virus's spread by limiting interactions inside their walls.
Duke Health Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Cameron Wolfe said this flu season has “been fairly typical” in terms of who is getting infected.
“It’s those extremes of age and people with underlying health issues. That’s been the same for many years with flu, and it was quite similar to what we saw with COVID, although young kids weren’t so badly affected there, but that’s already what we’re seeing here. They’re the people who really we should have been reaching out to for vaccine techniques over the past few months,” Wolfe said.
Influenza cases surpassed coronavirus and began to soar in mid-December, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, and historical data shows that flu peaks in January and February.
Wolfe said hospitals are mostly seeing Influenza A.
“That’s the more aggressive type typically. That’s always the one that always occurs here a little bit earlier as well, so we’re certainly seeing that. We see it both in pediatric cases but we also see it in elderly and at-risk patients as well so it is certainly being felt,” Wolfe said.
In December, 21% of all emergency department visits in the past week were for respiratory illnesses. The rising numbers have prompted some hospitals to return to requiring masks and limiting visitation.
Which hospitals are restricting visitors?
Beginning Jan. 2, visitors in all WakeMed hospital patient care areas, including waiting rooms, must be at least 12 years old.
Similar restrictions go into place Jan. 2 for UNC Hospitals’ Chapel Hill, Hillsborough, and Youth Behavioral Health campuses. Visitors 11 and younger are prohibited from all inpatient areas and all waiting rooms. Masks are strongly recommended for staff and encouraged for patients and visitors.
Duke University Health System is limiting visitors to two at a time per patient beginning Jan. 3, and children under 12 are not permitted to visit hospitals or wards without prior approval from health care providers and for special circumstances.
“Each year we see patients, who – whether they realize their symptoms are severe enough yet to be influenza or not – bring that into the hospital. We saw the same thing with COVID. I think where the age restrictions come into it is anyone who has kids or grandkids will know, the younger the child frankly the less they are aware of their symptoms and the less they control where their hands, their secretions, and frankly where their snot goes. They’re just not very good at managing that themselves,” said Wolfe.
Visitors to Duke hospitals are urged to wear masks and to perform hand washing frequently.
The hospital systems are all asking those with fever or respiratory illness symptoms – including cough or shortness of breath – to stay home unless seeking treatment by a doctor.
On Monday, UNC Rex Hospitals announced the following changes to their visitor policies at their main campus in Raleigh, Holly Springs Hospital and their clinics: .
- Visitors aged 11 and under will be prohibited from inpatient and all waiting rooms
- Visitors with respiratory symptoms are prohibited from the same areas.
- Normal visiting policies remain in effect for the remaining areas of the hospitals.
- Healthy visitors of any age remain welcome in the hospital lobbies and retail and food locations.
Masks required at Cape Fear Valley Health
Across the state, hospitals in the southeastern counties reported the highest percentage of people going to emergency departments with flu-like illness; that rate was lowest in North Carolina's far western and northeastern counties.
Effective Dec. 28, masks are required for all patients and visitors in waiting rooms and other areas of the emergency departments of Cape Fear Valley Health, including Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayeteville, Bladen County Hospital, Hoke Hospital, Central Harnett Hospital and Betsy Johnson Hospital.
All Cape Fear Valley Health locations, including outpatient clinics, are limiting visitors.
In pediatric emergency departments, one parent or guardian is permitted in the waiting room, and two parents or guardians are allowed once the child is placed in a room.
Patients 65 and older or those who are cognitively impaired are allowed to have a visitor with them in the waiting room and triage areas.
Once a patient is assigned a room, adult patients will be allowed one visitor at a time.
