Children will be hospitalized at Triangle-area UNC health facilities starting Monday as the health system works with local hospitals to lift age-based restrictions put in place to reduce the spread of winter respiratory illnesses. Visiting areas and waiting rooms will be able to resume.
Starting Jan. 2, UNC Health has prohibited visitors 11 and under to inpatient areas. In a statement Friday, UNC Health cited “reduced hospitalizations for influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and COVID-19 infections” as the reason for ending the restrictions.
UNC Health said the new visitation policy applies to its hospitals in Chapel Hill, Hillsboro, UNC Health Rex in Raleigh and Holly Springs, and UNC Health Chatham in Siler City. Other properties in the system have implemented their own visitor policies based on local trends.
Duke Health lifted age-based visitor restrictions on March 5, also noting a “significant reduction in respiratory illnesses in the Triangle.” In contrast to UNC Health, Duke University focuses on limiting elderly hospital visitors by prohibiting more than one patient over the age of 12 from visiting her at a time. Ta.
WakeMed relaxed its daytime visitation policy on March 9, allowing visits for youth under 12. The Raleigh-based health system also moved last week to make mask-wearing optional.
UNC Health Spokesperson Alan Wolfe explained that age-based visitor restrictions are common during peak flu season.
“The pandemic disrupted things a little bit, but we've been back to that seasonal pattern for the past two years,” he said in an email. “We are working to avoid strict visitation restrictions because we know that families and loved ones can assist in the healing process.”