DETROIT – The Detroit Medical Center (DMC) placed temporary restrictions on inpatient visitations on Thursday amid increased coronavirus spread in Michigan.
Visiting hours are now between 8 a.m to 6 p.m. daily for patients at the DMC Harper University Hospital, DMC Heart Hospital, DMC Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital, DMC Hutzel Women’s Hospital, DMC Detroit Receiving Hospital and DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital. Adult inpatients will be allowed one visitor per day, and the visitor must be 18 years old or older.
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As visitors enter the hospital, they will be asked screening questions, get their temperature taken and sanitize their hands. All visitors are required to wear a face mask and practice social distancing. Incoming patients will also follow the same protocols, according to officials.
Inpatients who test positive for COVID-19 or have symptoms are not allowed any visitors at this time.
Patients in procedural care, the emergency department, clinics or those undergoing outpatient procedures are allowed one visitor per day. Those visiting patients under these circumstances will wait in a designated “COVID safe” area upon arrival, officials said.
Officials said Thursday that visitation protocols will remain the same at the DMC Children’s Hospital of Michigan and the DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan.
DMC’s visitation restrictions come as Michigan -- especially Wayne County -- experiences significant coronavirus spread compared to recent months. New COVID-19 cases have been increasing rapidly throughout the state in recent weeks, and virus hospitalizations have risen in response. Experts are warning Michigan residents that if this trend continues, it will be disastrous for the state’s health care system.
On Thursday, the state of Michigan reported 6,940 new COVID-19 cases and 45 new deaths since Wednesday. The total number of confirmed COVID cases in Michigan has risen to 236,225, including 7,811 total deaths, as of Thursday.
Testing has increased in recent weeks, with more than 45,000 diagnostic tests reported per day, but the positive rate has increased to above 11% over the last week. Hospitalizations have increased steadily for the last five weeks, including upticks in critical care and ventilator use.
Michigan’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 5,313 on Wednesday, the highest it has ever been. The 7-day death average was 46, the highest since early June. The state’s fatality rate is 3.4%. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 92,600 on Wednesday, its highest mark on record. More than 128,000 have recovered in Michigan.
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