Facing rising COVID-19 hospitalizations, Mount Nittany Medical Center will begin restricting visitors on Saturday, April 3.

For the time being, medical center patients won’t be permitted a visitor. Emergency department patients may be accompanied by a caregiver or support person so long as they’re not “under investigation for COVID-19” or positive for the virus.

Additionally, “special circumstances,” including caregivers for patients of the hospital’s women and children’s services department, will continue.

In a statement, Mount Nittany Medical Center said its team will continually assess the hospital’s operations and potentially adjust visitation policies as it sees fit.

“We are sensitive to the separation this restriction creates for our patients and families, but we strongly believe continuing to limit the number of people in our facilities is essential to keeping our patients and staff safe,” the hospital said Friday. “We encourage the use of other forms of support, like phone calls and video chats, when possible.”

Mount Nittany Medical Center’s revised policies come as the hospital faces its highest levels of COVID-19-related hospitalizations in two months. As of Friday morning, it’s treating 25 virus-positive inpatients aged between 28 and 90 years old.

The hospital admitted 124 COVID-19-positive inpatients throughout March, up from 96 total admissions in February. Both fell significantly below January’s 211 total virus-positive hospitlizations.

Mount Nittany Medical Center hasn’t adjusted its services yet. It’s previously rescheduled elective and nonessential surgeries when faced with high COVID-19 hospitalizations.

“While we are taking big steps forward in our fight against COVID-19, we are not done,” Dr. Upendra Thaker, the medical center’s chief medical officer, said Thursday. “Each of us at Mount Nittany Health ask that you please help us by continuing to avoid social gatherings, keep wearing your masks and frequently wash your hands. These measures have been proven to help stop the spread of COVID-19, and we need the entire community to do its part. We must be in this together.”

Anyone with questions regarding Mount Nittany Medical Center’s new policies is encouraged to call (814) 231-7000. For Mount Nittany Physician Group, patients should directly call the practice or outpatient office.