Mayo Clinic is tightening visitor guidelines at its flagship campus in Rochester, Minn., effective Jan. 3.
The health system is restricting visitation to one consistent visitor per patient for daytime visits, emergency department visits, and for surgeries or procedures, according to a news release. Under the current visitation protocol, all designated visitors will undergo COVID-19 screening before entering the building; visitors must be at least 16 years old; and visiting hours will be adjusted based on local community COVID-19 transmission rates.
On Dec. 29, Mayo Clinic said it would prohibit certain types of face coverings and urged patients and visitors to ditch the cloth versions, citing variability in cloth mask performance.
The daily average for new cases in Minnesota was 3,713 on Jan. 2, a 16 percent increase over the last two weeks, data from The New York Times shows. Meanwhile, hospitalizations fell 13 percent over the same time period to 1,440.