Children’s Hospital Bans… Children

A local children’s hospital is keeping kids out in fear of what they might bring in.

Nemours/Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children is asking parents to keep all kids under the age of 10 from visiting the hospital because of flu fears.

"... continuing throughout the flu season, no children under the age of 10 will be permitted to visit inpatients (those staying at the hospital overnight)," said a statement posted to the hospital’s website. "We're implementing this temporary inpatient visitor restriction to help prevent the spread of influenza (the flu), as well as upper respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses -- and to give our patients staying at the hospital the best chance of healing."

Signs explaining the ban in both Spanish and English were also posted at the hospital.

The ban, which went into effect Friday, could mean that some young patients could go long periods of times without seeing siblings or other family members.

“We recognize the therapeutic value of having brothers and siblings and friends come in to visit,” said Medical Director Dr. Steven Cook. “But… we do need to make sure that we are not exposing folks to germs that are coming in from the outside.”

Besides banning little ones from visiting, the hospital also will require any adult who didn’t get the flu shot to wear a mask while in the hospital.