Children are not welcome at hospitals right now – and it’s for everyone’s good

Leave children at home if you are visiting patients at hospitals in the central San Joaquin Valley.

Hospitals are restricting visitation during flu season, and children are not allowed in patient rooms to avoid spreading influenza and other respiratory illnesses.

Influenza is widespread in the Valley and statewide.

In general, children 12 and younger are not allowed to visit hospital patients, but the age limit can vary.

At Kaiser Permanente Fresno and Saint Agnes Medical Center, visitation is restricted for visitors under age 14.

“The course of the flu is unpredictable in both adults and children, and it is difficult to identify the stage of transmission with certainty,” said Dr. Bakht Roshan, an infectious disease specialist at Madera Community Hospital

Madera Community on Friday also reminded visitors that anyone with rash, diarrhea or respiratory symptoms – fever, cough, sore throat or shortness of breath – are restricted from hospital visitation.

Hospitals also ask that only immediate family members – and no children – visit patients during flu season.

Hospital visitation restrictions are usually posted in lobby areas.

This story was originally published December 29, 2017 at 2:46 PM with the headline "Children are not welcome at hospitals right now – and it’s for everyone’s good."