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BOSTON, Mass. (WBZNewsRadio) - As COVID cases continue to surge both here in Massachusetts and across the U.S. many hospitals are opting to tighten their visitor policies.
As of Thursday evening, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health reported 18,721 new confirmed COVID cases and 36 additional deaths, which are both lower than numbers reported on Wednesday. There are 3,180 people currently in the hospital with COVID, that's the highest number since May 2020. There are also 484 patients currently in intensive care.
Mass General Brigham updated it's policy this week. The hospital system that includes Massachusetts General hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital, went from allowing two visitors at a time to one for inpatients.
The Massachusetts Nurses Association says more need to be done to keep the surge at bay and no visitors should be allowed at all in the state's hospitals.
Other Boston hospitals share the one visitor rule, including Tufts and Boston Medical Center. However some hospitals have gone a step further, both Beth Israel and South Shore Hospital have a no visitor policy.
There are however some exceptions to the rules, especially in specific departments like ICU or Labor and Delivery.
WBZ's Brooke McCarthy (@BrookeWBZ) reports