The Rotunda Hospital in Dublin is reintroducing the ban on partners of pregnant women attending the 20-week scan.
In a statement, the hospital said partners would not be permitted at the routine 20-22 week anatomy scan from tomorrow.
It said the “difficult decision” was taken in response to surge in COVID-19 in the community and the recent return to Level Five restrictions.
Women who are in labour or giving birth are allowed to have “one named nominated companion” with them.
Due to the surge in community acquired COVID-19 infections & the move to Level 5 restrictions, the EMT have taken the very difficult decision to change our visiting policy. From Tues 5th January, partners will no longer be able to attend for the routine 20-22 week anatomy scan. pic.twitter.com/EgH4j5H7p8
— The Rotunda Hospital (@RotundaHospital) January 4, 2021
It comes just under a month after the HSE lifted national restrictions on partners attending the scan, which had been in place since the early days of the outbreak.
After more than 50,000 people signed a petition calling for the restrictions around maternity services to be relaxed, the HSE said partners would be permitted to attend the 20-week scan as ‘essential companions.’
The Rotunda announcement comes as the HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid confirmed the health service was considering cutting back on non-urgent care in hospitals across the country in response to the “frightening” scale of the virus.
As of last night, there were over 730 COVID-19 patients in Irish hospitals, with 65 people in intensive care.
Authorities yesterday reported 4,962 new cases of the virus – by far the highest daily amount reported throughout the pandemic.
