Starting Monday, Jan. 17, St. Luke's will require visitors to show proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a negative PCR test within 72 hours of the visit, the health care system announced Friday.
Visitors also may not be waiting for a test result, have tested positive in the 14 days before the visit or have been asked to quarantine due to exposure. Visitors may not be close contacts of someone who tested positive in the last 14 days, unless they are fully vaccinated.
The policy does not apply for a visit to an end-of-life patient, parents or guardians of a pediatric patient, or a support person for a patient with disabilities or in labor and delivery. However, people who are exceptions to the policy will be required to wear a KN95 mask, provided by St. Luke's.
St. Luke's said it amended its visitor policy, which was already restricted to one to two visitors per patient per day, because of the "incredibly high community spread of COVID-19," according to a news release.
Adult patients at St. Luke's with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections are not allowed visitors until the patient is no longer contagious.
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To view the policy, visit slhduluth.com/visitors .
