Md. hospitals, nursing homes move to restrict visitors

ANNAPOLIS — Nursing homes and retirement facilities in Maryland are being asked to restrict visitors and employee travel as part of an effort to protect elderly residents from the COVID-19 virus, while some state hospital systems announced they will implement more stringent visitor policies Wednesday.

Gov. Larry Hogan announced the new nursing home guidelines as the state enters its second week of heightened response to the virus that has now infected nine patients. The governor said during a Tuesday meeting on the virus with his full Cabinet that he wished to prevent an outbreak in other areas of the country.

“Older people and those with underlying health conditions are much more vulnerable and at significantly higher risk of contracting the disease with morbidity and mortality rates that are three to five times higher than the flu,” said Hogan. “Nursing homes and retirement communities are the areas of greatest concern. The nursing home in Kirkland Washington continues to be the site of the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the United States.”

Currently, there are more than 160 cases in eight counties in Washington state and 22 deaths with the vast majority — 19 — associated with a single facility in that state and 31 others who have tested positive for the virus.

Hogan, stressing the need to prevent such an occurrence in Maryland, said nursing homes should begin to restrict access to visitors and make online face-to-face and phone call communications more widely available. Furthermore, the governor called for facilities to restrict employees from traveling outside the country.

Additionally, he called on facilities to monitor any staff who have traveled outside the country in the last 14 days or who show signs of a sore throat, cough, fever or other upper respiratory symptoms. Staff who feel ill are asked to stop working immediately, inform their facility and self-isolate.

A spokesman for the governor said after the news briefing that the recommendations were advisory and not mandatory. Hogan said a written advisory would be issued later in the day.

“You’ll see that later,” Hogan told reporters outside the reception room where his Cabinet continued meeting. “I’m not trying to get into all the specifics of it at this moment but you’ll have it later today.”

Maryland hospital systems have put in place more stringent visitor policies that include restrictions on child visitors and visitors who have recently traveled internationally.

The University of Maryland Medical System announced over the weekend that one of its hospitals was treating a patient with a confirmed case of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

“The coronavirus disease poses several challenges to an extended family presence at a patient’s bedside including potential spread of the virus to patients and staff by those with asymptomatic or mild infection,” Dr. David Marcozzi, the system’s COVID-19 incident commander, said in a statement.

UMMS and LifeBridge Health made changes, effective Wednesday. Many of the changes are similar to policies that might be used during a flu outbreak.

Their changes include:

• All visitors must check in at the front desk;

• No visitors younger than 18 are permitted;

• One adult visitor per patient;

• Visitors will be screened for flu-like symptoms and cannot visit if they have symptoms;

• Visitors who recently traveled internationally may not visit 14 days after they arrive in the U.S.

At LifeBridge, children of patients will be allowed to visit.

LifeBridge’s Sinai, Northwest and Carroll hospitals, have set up tents outside of their emergency departments as a precaution in case the hospitals need a large area to screen and triage patients, LifeBridge said in a news release.

“While we hope that we will not have need for them, having these tents in place will allow our teams to respond more quickly should the need arise,” the release said.

Luminis Health’s coronavirus visitors policy says children younger than 12 should not visit, people with cold- or flu-like symptoms should not visit and patients or visitors coming to Luminis hospitals with respiratory symptoms must request a mask.

Greater Baltimore Medical Center said it had not updated its visitor policy, but was reviewing its policies daily and would update if necessary.

COVID-19 is from a family of coronaviruses that include severe acute respiratory syndrome — SARS – and Middle East respiratory syndrome. The virus takes its name for the spikes that appear on the surface of its cells that resemble crowns.

Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most people who catch the virus develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.

Maryland has been under a state of emergency since March 5 so that the state can ramp up response efforts to the virus.

On Monday, Hogan called on the elderly to consider avoiding large crowds and gatherings as well as travel citing concerns over the virus and its effect on older people.

“The average person right now that has the disease is 60,” Hogan said Monday. “The average (age) of the person who died is 80. People in nursing homes are the ones we’re most concerned about.”