A man who was exposed to the coronavirus and feeling ill hid his symptoms from staff at a hospital in upstate New York in order to visit his wife in the maternity ward is now fessing up.
“It was purely an honor system before,” UR Medicine spokesman Chip Partner told the Democrat & Chronicle. “Now we’re adding the temperature check.”
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Due to the incident, visitors will now have their temperatures checked for fever, a sign of possible coronavirus infection upon entry to the hospital, and every 12 hours afterward.
According to NBC News, the man went to be with wife when she gave birth at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. Staff at the hospital questioned the man and he told them he was in good health and had not been exposed to the coronavirus, NBC News reports.
After giving birth, the man’s wife began to show symptoms of COVID-19.
“That’s when the significant other admitted his potential exposure and that he was feeling symptomatic,” Partner said.
Because of privacy laws, UR Medicine can’t say whether the mother, father or newborn child were infected with the coronavirus; however, Barbara Ficarra, a spokesperson for UR Medicine, told NBC News that the mother has since returned home.