Preventing The Spread Of COVID-19, Zainoel Abidin Hospital Banda Aceh Cancels Patient Visiting Hours

Security officers at the Zainal Abidin General Hospital (RSUZA) socialize the abolition of patient visiting hours in Banda Aceh, Aceh/ANTARA

BANDA ACEH - Management of the Regional General Hospital (RSUD) Dr Zainoel Abidin Banda Aceh has canceled the visiting hours of patients who are being hospitalized. This policy is an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the hospital environment.

The Head of Public Relations of RSUD Dr Zainoel Abidin Rahmadi said the policy was contained in a circular issued last February 15, and is still in effect today.

"The expiration date (of the circular) has not yet been determined," he said in Banda Aceh, as reported by Antara, Tuesday, July 19.

The circular letter was issued following up on the instructions of the Governor of Aceh considering that the spread of new variants of COVID-19 is still happening in Indonesia.

Therefore, the Director of the RSUD dr Zainoel Abidin set a policy to strengthen the implementation of a visitation ban for the families of inpatients as an effort to reduce the surge in corona cases in hospitals.

Several points in the circular letter, such as the temporary suspension of visiting hours, prohibit the patient's family from visiting the hospital unless the patient's companion has obtained permission from the hospital management.

Furthermore, assistance to inpatients and the emergency room is only allowed by one person, of course by using the waiting card that has been provided.

The hospital also requested that the patient's companion must be in good health, and must comply with health protocols before entering the inpatient room. As well as prohibiting children under the age of 12 years to be in the hospital environment.

From that instruction, the hospital asked all security officers to monitor and control everyone who violated the law.

Previously, in April 2021, Zainoel Abidin Hospital had also implemented the same policy as a step to stem the increasingly massive spread.

Until now, said Rahmadi, the condition of the treatment room for COVID-19 patients at the dr Zainoel Abidin Hospital is still conducive and there are no new cases. "Currently it is empty (patients treated for COVID-19)," he said.