September 24, 2021 – The high prevalence of COVID-19 in the community and growing number of patients admitted in hospital with the disease has Cornwall Community Hospital (CCH) implementing full restrictions for hospital visitation effective Monday, September 27, 2021.

Most admitted patients will still be able to welcome an essential visitor during a scheduled time, but patients coming to the emergency department or for day clinic visits and procedures will need an exceptional circumstance to be accompanied. We will continue to safely make exceptions for compassionate reasons, including palliative/end of life.

A full breakdown of who can visit patients at the hospital and exceptional circumstances can be found here: www.cornwallhospital.ca/en/VisitingHours.

“Earlier this summer, we safely eased our visitation restrictions when the prevalence of COVID- 19 in the community was low. Our community is again seeing a rise in cases, and it has become necessary to restrict the flow of foot traffic coming in to the hospital to protect our staff, physicians, and vulnerable patients,” says Jeanette Despatie, President and CEO.

The COVID-19 Assessment Centre, located at the hospital’s Community Addiction and Mental Health building, has seen an increased demand for testing and is reporting a positivity rate of more than 7%, currently one of the highest positivity rates in Ontario.

As of September 23, there are 10 patients admitted at CCH with COVID-19, the highest number since the third wave last spring; 80% of these patients are not fully vaccinated.

Although staff are working hard to screen visitors and patients for COVID-19, the best preventative measure continues to be vaccination. Being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 has been proven to be effective at lowering the risk of being infected yourself or infecting others. By being fully vaccinated, you’re protecting yourself and your loved ones, especially those who are sick or in hospital.

That is why, in the coming weeks, hospitals in the region will begin requiring proof of vaccination for visitors entering the hospital. CCH is currently putting in place plans to implement this direction and will be sharing more details soon. Again, we will continue to safely make exceptions for compassionate reasons.

Hospitals are also faced with unique challenges and follow specific infection prevention and control guidance provided by the province which may be more restrictive than other community public health measures.

“The fourth wave is here, and it’s important that we do everything we can to protect our staff, physicians, and vulnerable patients who may be at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19,” adds Despatie.