Gauteng Health restricts visiting hours at hospitals

The restrictions follow the declaration of the COVID-19 outbreak as a national state of disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday.

The Gauteng Health Department has - with immediate effect - imposed restrictions on visiting hours at healthcare facilities across the province.

As of Thursday, visiting hours at these facilities were limited to one hour per day between 12h00-13h00.

The restrictions follow the declaration of the COVID-19 outbreak as a national state of disaster in terms of the Disaster Management Act by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday.

During the visiting hour, a patient will be allowed a maximum of two visitors per day.

"Only one visitor per patient will be allowed at a time, for no more than 15 minutes. There will be no rotation of visitors. No visitors will be allowed outside of the specified visiting hours," said the department.

For any visits outside the prescribed time, arrangements must be made and authorized by the attending doctor.

The decision also follows on the announcement of the Gauteng Provincial Government response measures.

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)