Butte-Silver Bow County health officials recommend local health care facilities, including hospitals, clinics and long-term health facilities temporarily restrict visitation.
It’s not an uncommon decision for facilities to make independently, especially during peak flu season. But given the expanding novel coronavirus, or COVID-19 event, local health leaders opted to officially recommend visitor restrictions.
Butte-Silver Bow health officer Karen Sullivan says the voluntary visitor restrictions are meant to control the spread of local respiratory diseases.
The restrictions apply to people with respiratory symptoms such as coughs, colds, flu, aches and fever, as well as anyone who’s recently come in close contact with them. The voluntary restrictions also apply to children and young adults under the age of 18, although hospital restrictions may vary.
Healthy visitors are asked to clean hands both before and after visiting patients, and cover coughs and sneezes with tissues or sleeves.
The voluntary visiting restrictions are expected to continue until there’s a decline in flu and respiratory diseases in Montana.
