(Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – Sunday, 15 March, 2020): The Turks and Caicos Islands Hospital takes the health and safety of our valued patients extremely serious. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a comprehensive risk assessment of our current visiting hours was conducted.

The general public is hereby advised that visitation restrictions to the maternity and general wards will be enforced at Cheshire Hall Medical Centre and Cockburn Town Medical Centre to reduce the risk and spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), effective 8:00 a.m. on March 16, 2020.

The morning visitation period (11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.) has been suspended until further notice. In addition, chaplaincy services operated by religious persons and groups will no longer be accommodated until further notice. This restriction serves as a precautionary and protectionary measure to consider our vulnerable inpatient groups.

The following visitation periods will continue to be made available, however only a single visitor per patient, per visitation period is permitted daily and an immediate family member is recommended.

· 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
· 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The above visitation periods may also be subject to further restrictions as information is gathered to inform ongoing risk assessments. Nursing staff and the attending physician will work with families who have special circumstances on a case-by-case basis. All visitors to the inpatient wards are kindly asked to report to the security main reception desk.

This standard will apply even if visitors are healthy and regardless of their age. In addition, any and all visitors, including family members, with flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose and sore throat must not visit the wards. In accordance with public health announcements, persons are asked to contact their family physician and the TCIG Ministry of Health COVID-19 Emergency Hotlines to receive guidance.

The Ministry of Health emergency hotline numbers are +1-649-333-0911 and +1-649-232-9444. This process is established to minimize the risk of community spread and adverse effects on our health care facilities as a result of unintended patient and staff infectious exposure.

InterHealth Canada – Turks and Caicos Islands Hospital recognizes the importance of psychosocial support and interactions with relatives and friends during the healing process. We strongly encourage the utilization of communication mediums such as phone calls, videoconferences on cell phones or other mobile devices in the interim.

We will continue to monitor our visitation measures and make adjustments as needed in the interest of patient safety. We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this change. In addition, to avoid unnecessary traffic through the emergency department, persons should only access the emergency department entrance if seeking services for an emergency complaint. Persons should access the main entrance for all other services. Hand sanitiser stations are located across medical centres including the main entrances, and persons are asked to wash or sanitise hands before, during and after accessing the facility.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. Please continue to monitor for any further announcements.

ENDS