A New York man exhibiting coronavirus symptoms hid them so he could get into the maternity ward to see his wife give birth last week.
The incident took place at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, part of the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC), the Democrat and Chronicle reported.
The new mother started exhibiting symptoms of coronavirus shortly after giving birth, and that is when the father fessed up about having coronavirus symptoms.
“The patient in question and her partner were in a private maternity room throughout their hospital stay,” said Chip Partner, a URMC spokesman. “Both the mother and partner were isolated from other patients.”
The hospital warned staff members who came into contact with the couple about the situation and took necessary health precautions.
One hospital staffer started showing symptoms and was asked to quarantine at home, but later tested negative for the coronavirus.
The couple was asked to self-quarantine at home with their newborn until their test results came back, and they had been discharged from the hospital.
The hospital updated its visitation rules Friday, enacting a “zero-visitation policy” for most hospital visits. Only one visitor is allowed for birth and throughout the postpartum period leading up to hospital discharge, according to the updated guidelines.
The visitor will be screened upon arriving at the hospital and will have their temperature taken. Anyone exhibiting coronavirus-like symptoms will be asked to leave the maternity ward.
Even after passing the initial screening, the visitor will be screened twice more throughout the hospital stay — and the visitor is not allowed to leave the patient’s side for a smoke or to get food.
In New York state alone, there are 83,712 confirmed cases of the coronavirus as of Wednesday afternoon, with 1,941 being fatal.