With the number of novel coronavirus cases on the rise in the Pacific Northwest, PeaceHealth hospitals have implemented voluntary visitation restrictions. The controls are more about prevention than panic.
At RiverBend Medical Center in Springfield, Dr. Jim McGovern is acting Incident Commander for COVID-19 Response. He says the medical community now makes the assumption that coronavirus is in Lane County communities, given the outbreaks to the north.
“So if we do have undetected coronavirus activity in the area it may present as kind of a common cold or some mild flu-like symptoms,” McGovern says. “We’d rather have people to choose not to come into the hospital and expose our patients and potentially our staff.”
McGovern says the visitation restrictions are voluntary. People should use common health sense when deciding whether to enter hospitals. There are influenza and other common viruses circulating throughout the region. McGovern expects this policy to remain for the foreseeable future.
