MONTREAL -- Caregivers and visitors can now see a patient at one of Quebec's hospital centres at any time, the Minister of Health and Social Services said on Friday.
In a statement, the health ministry said those visits must conform to certain “general conditions.”
People who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the past 28 days and who have not been confirmed to be virus-free will still not be permitted to visit.
The same restrictions will apply to people displaying symptoms of COVID-19 or who are “suspected of being infected,” or are awaiting a test result and are in isolation.
Only one person may visit during each time slot with a maximum of four visitors per patient in a 24-hour period.
Visiting hours may vary from region to region.
The health ministry said that there may be alterations on a case-by-case basis, such as on a humanitarian basis for “a patient who is at the end of life or if it's an emergency.”
Visitors to emergency rooms could be temporarily banned in the event of high traffic.
For oncology patients, the presence of caregivers is limited to cases that require them, such as patients who need special support or have cognitive impairments or hospitalized children.
In obstetrics “all reasonable measures” must be put in place to encourage the presence of an accompanying person during childbirth.
