Hospitals to Kid Visitors: Stay Away!
By MONICA BUCHANAN
Updated 5:15 PM EDT, Thu, Oct 29, 2009
It’s the latest line of defense against the swine flu. Starting Monday, many hospitals across the state will enforce new visitation policies that keep kids under the age of 18 away.
They’re not picking on kids, but according the CDC, children in this category appear to be the biggest carriers of swine flu.
“One of the things we've found is they tend to be carriers of H1N1 and we'd like to keep them out -- especially when it comes to babies and young children," said Dr. Peter Jacoby of Saint Mary’s Hospital.
Both Waterbury Hospital and Saint Mary’s Hospital already have a back-up plan in place in case swine flu cases spike. They’re considering alternative treatment sights in order to try and contain the virus.
In addition, those hospitals will not perform routine testing for the swine flu anymore. According to doctors, the tests are unreliable and have contributed to an increase in hospital traffic.
“What we are trying to tell the public is please don't come running down to the ER to overwhelm them, we're not going to test, the test isn't good enough to do it," said Dr. Jacoby.
First Published: Oct 29, 2009 3:57 PM EDT
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