Covid: Lincolnshire hospital visitor ban to counter infections

The ban will apply to hospitals in Lincoln, Boston, Grantham and Louth

Visitors are to be banned from hospitals in Lincolnshire in a bid to tackle high levels of Covid infections in the county, the NHS has said.

United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust said the visitor restrictions would apply to all but "exceptional cases".

The latest government figures show Lincoln has 649 Covid cases per 100,000 people, the highest rate in England.

Patients attending Lincoln, Boston, Grantham or Louth hospitals have also been asked to come alone if they can.

'Upsetting decision'

Dr Karen Dunderdale, director of nursing for the trust, said the measures were to "limit the spread of this virus".

"We know this decision will be upsetting for those who have loved ones in hospital, but we must prioritise the safety of our patients and staff," she said.

"We have put in place some exceptions and our ward teams will work with families to ensure access in these circumstances.

"Wards will be offering the opportunity for families to talk to relatives via Skype or FaceTime where possible."

Exceptions will be allowed for partners to visit maternity wards and parents to see their children on paediatric wards, as well as visits to dying patients.

All visitors are being asked to conduct lateral flow tests before arriving at hospitals.

Meanwhile, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Public Health Lincolnshire (PHL) plans to introduce shuttle buses to help people travel to the Covid-19 vaccination site at the Lincolnshire Showground.

Natalie Liddle, from PHL, said more mobile pop-up vaccination clinics could also be set up across the county.

The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show 77% of people in Lincoln have had one dose of a vaccine, with 58% fully vaccinated.

There have been a total of 9,928 cases in the city, with 201 deaths.