At all of their sites, Interior Health is limiting visitor access to essential visits only in order to protect everyone at their various locations.

“This decision supports the province-wide response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and reflects the provincial state of emergency,” said Interior Health. “The restriction of visits will help keep our patients, individuals in care, families and health-care workers safe.”

Interior Health said the new measures also align with the Provincial Health Officer’s recommendations for social distancing.

Laying out a guideline, Interior Health has deemed the following list “essential visits”, although it is not all-encompassing:

  • Visits for compassionate care (e.g. end of life and critical illness)
  • Visits considered paramount to patient/client care and wellbeing (caregivers and support persons), such as assistance with feeding or mobility
    • To further limit the number of people entering sites at this time, the same caregiver or support person should attend each essential visit wherever possible

Interior Health said patient navigators will be stationed at all entrances to their facilities to ensure that visitors are aware of the new restrictions.

The healthy authority, also the following reminders to the public if they plan on coming to an Interior Health facility:

  • People experiencing fever, cough, runny/stuffy nose, sore throat, and/or diarrhea must not visit any IH facility
  • Anyone who has travelled outside of Canada in the previous 14 days must not visit patients/residents in any IH facility
  • Anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 (or who has been in contact with a person infected with COVID-19) during the previous 14 days must not visit patients/residents in any IH facility

“We understand the importance of visits from family and loved ones to our patients and long-term care residents and we appreciate everyone’s support in keeping our patients, families, and health-care workers safe,” said Interior Health.

The healthy authority said the BC Centre for Disease Control website remains the best place for accurate and current COVID-19 information.

More: BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC)