Hospitals in the Washington area are restricting youths from visiting patients and limiting visitors to certain areas to help stop the spread of the swine flu.
On Monday, Shady Grove Adventist, Washington Adventist and Holy Cross hospitals will ban visitors under the age of 12. Suburban Hospital in Bethesda also has banned visitors under 12.
Prince William Hospital and Inova Health System hospitals stopped allowing visitors under the age of 18 at the beginning of the month.
Children and teens are more susceptible to the swine flu, or H1N1 virus, said Cynda Tipple, chief operating officer at Prince William Hospital.
The hospital also is restricting visitors to its birthing center, only allowing spouses. And it is suspending tours of the center.
Hospital officials are encouraging people who have flu-like symptoms not to visit at all. Those symptoms may include a sore throat, nasal congestion or a fever of more than 100 degrees, said Ronna Borenstein, spokeswoman for Suburban Hospital.
Most hospitals are making exceptions for children and teens who accompany adults to emergency departments and for those visiting patients who are dying. Borenstein said exceptions at Suburban would be made at the discretion of hospital officials.
Paula Faria, spokeswoman for the Washington Hospital Center, said the hospital was monitoring the swine flu to see if changes in policy were necessary. The hospital already does not allow children under 13 to visit.
Other precautions that area hospitals are taking include requiring visitors to wear masks or protective clothing and limiting visiting hours. Inova hospitals will allow two blocks of visiting hours in inpatient units and are limiting visitors to two at a time.
