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Bon Secours – Southampton Medical Center further restricted visitation as of Tuesday, Jan. 4, due to the rise in COVID-19 cases in the area.

Franklin is the smallest Western Tidewater Health District locality, and it was reporting a triple-digit 7-day average of 124.8 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people. Its 28.6% positivity is lower than Isle of Wight County’s and Suffolk’s, but it saw 20 new cases on Sunday, Jan. 2, nearly tying its 24-case, single-day record set last September.

Bon Secours Public Relations and Communications Manager Jenna Green particularly highlighted two key changes, effective Tuesday, to what had previously been listed on the “Temporary Visitor Restrictions” page on the medical center’s website.

First, in reference to the emergency room, no visitors are allowed unless the patient is a child or cognitively impaired or in a trauma situation. A child patient can have two visitors. 

“Cognitively impaired patients or patients in trauma situations may be allowed a visitor,” Green stated.

Secondly, inpatients are limited to one visitor at a time.

Among the other key restrictions Green made note of, only one visitor is allowed per surgical patient; patients receiving outpatient testing are allowed no visitors unless a support person is deemed essential for the emotional well-being of the patient; and the medical center’s cafeteria is closed to the public.

For further information, visit www.bonsecours.com/locations/hospitals-medical-centers/ and click on “Hampton Roads,” then “Bon Secours – Southampton Medical Center” on the next page and then “Visitor Information” on the next page, or call 757-569-6100.