Restricting the number of visitors for patients. Preventing medical representatives from entering hospital. Discouraging elderly patients from turning up at outpatient departments for routine consultations.

Private hospitals across the city are taking several measures to reduce footfall to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. With educational institutes shut and cinemas closed, crowding at public places is reducing every day but hospitals are the only spots where footfall is likely to increase.

Some hospitals are not allowing visitors, while others are restricting the number of visitors for each patient in the ward to one and reducing the duration of the visiting time from two hours to one.

“We are allowing one visitor for each critical care unit patient and those who underwent surgery on that particular day. For other general ward patients, we are not allowing any visitor. The more the number of visitors, the more at risk are patients in wards,” said R. Venkatesh, regional director, east, Narayana Health.

The RN Tagore International Institute of Cardiac Sciences in Mukundapur, off EM Bypass, is the flagship hospital of the Narayana Health group.

“We started making announcements regarding this on our public address system two days back,” he said. People above 60 seeking appointment at the outpatient department at the hospital are being asked to wait for about 15 days unless it is an emergency.

At other hospitals, too, visitors are being restricted. At AMRI Hospitals, only one visitor is being allowed for each patient. “If multiple persons want to take turns and meet a patient, we are discouraging them. They are being explained the benefits of allowing fewer visitors in this situation,” said an official of AMRI.

The hospital is also discouraging attendants from staying with patients in private rooms. Exceptions are being made for children and critical patients.

Almost all hospitals are asking patients seeking appointments at outpatient departments to be accompanied by only one person. The hospitals are encouraging people who can move on their own not to bring anyone along.

Belle Vue Clinic has issued a notice saying “Due (to) present worldwide crisis, no medical representatives are allowed till further instructions from management”.

“We spoke to the doctors and took the decision,” said Pradip Tondon, the CEO of the hospital. The hospital has restricted the number of visitors for indoor patients.

Several doctors said they were deferring appointments of non-emergency patients. Some are asking patients to send reports by email or WhatsApp and giving advice over the phone.

Surgical oncologist Gautam Mukhopadhyay, however, said it was difficult to ask cancer patients not to come to the clinic even if there is no emergency. “These patients feel better when the doctor talks to them in person,” Mukhopadhyay said.