Southfield, Mich.-based Beaumont Health is again placing severe restrictions on visitation as the state sees a rise in COVID-19 cases, local NBC affiliate WDIV-TV reported March 25.
Visitors are allowed in certain cases, including two visitors for patients' receiving end-of-life care, or two parents for patients under age 21.
In the limited cases where visitors are allowed, they must screen negative for respiratory infection symptoms.
"We have noticed an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases in metro Detroit over the past few weeks," said Nick Gilpin, DO, medical director of infection prevention and epidemiology at Beaumont Health. "Community positivity rates have jumped, and we are seeing more and more COVID-19 variants, too. While we are happy that the vaccine is becoming more widely available, we know that taking difficult steps, like restricting visitation, is still necessary to help us keep our patients and staff safe."
The restrictions went into effect March 25. Beaumont said it will release additional visitation guidelines pertaining to people who have been fully vaccinated in April.
Michigan has averaged 4,122 new COVID-19 cases per day over the last week, marking a 132 percent jump compared to the average from two weeks ago, according to data from The New York Times. The state has reported 986 cases of the B.1.1.7 or U.K. variant, the second highest number in the U.S. Florida has reported 1,042 cases of the more transmisible variant as of March 25, according to the CDC.
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