BATON ROUGE – Since early March, most hospitals around the country limited or banned patient visitation due to the COVID-19 health crisis. 

But as Louisiana continues to see a reduction in its number of local coronavirus cases, officials at Baton Rouge General have decided it's safe to relax certain visitation rules. 

Beginning Monday, June 1, Baton Rouge General will allow one visitor per patient with specific guidelines to ensure the continued safety of patients, staff and visitors. 

When admitted to the hospital, each patient will provide the name of one essential visitor who will be allowed to visit from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

A few of BRG's basic visitation guidelines are listed below:

General Guidelines

 -Visitors must be over the age of 18

-Visitors will enter through Entrance 3 at Bluebonnet and the Main Entrance at Mid City, where they will receive a visitor identification armband

-Visitor will be reminded of the signs and symptoms of COVID-19 and asked not to visit if they are experiencing any of them

-Visitors will be asked to wear a mask while walking to the patient’s room. Once in the room, they will be asked to wear a mask when a healthcare provider enters the room

-Visitors are expected to go directly to the patient’s room and to remain there during visitor hours, except for short trips to the cafeteria or coffee shop

-Visitation policy applies to patients who are COVID negative

For more on BRG’s visitor policy, visit brgeneral.org.