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UPHS-Marquette officials gave voice this week to reports that have quietly moved through the community in recent weeks, that the annual flu season, the latest version of the COVID-19 virus and now RSV are conspiring to make a great many people in the region sick.
Officials at the Marquette hospital have implement limited visitor restrictions for all inpatient units at its hospital facilities. Visitor restrictions will remain in effect until further notice.
"As always, the safety of our patients, providers and team members continues to be our top priority. We continue to take all of the necessary precautions to prevent the spread of illness in our facilities," a UPHS-Marquette news release states. "We want to reassure our communities that it is still safe to come to our hospitals and clinics should you or your family need care."
Specifically, these visitor restrictions apply:
-- Visitors who are ill with cough, fever, runny nose, sore throat, vomiting or diarrhea are not permitted.
-- Children younger than 14 are not allowed to visit.
-- In the family birthing centers, visitors are limited to parents, labor coaches and grandparents.
-- In the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, visitors are limited to parents, which only applies to UP Health System-Marquette.
"We understand these visitor restrictions may be difficult; however, we feel these protective measures are necessary for the health and safety of all," the release states. "We, along with our community health partners, are monitoring respiratory illnesses closely, and we will reassess and adjust visitor restrictions when we feel it's safe and appropriate to do so."
Although exact statistics were not available, just about everyone knows someone who has come down with something.
We recommend readers seriously consider vaccines for the cited maladies. While they don't offer 100% protection, we are told, they will keep patients from getting very, very sick. And that, we believe, is a step in the right direction.
-- The Mining Journal, Marquette