KINGSTON, ONT. -- The Kingston Health Sciences Centre says it has updated its COVID-19 screening process and will no longer let visitors who are from or who have been to "red" or "lockdown" zones to enter its hospitals under most circumstances.

"Two additional screening questions at KHSC’s Kingston General Hospital and Hotel Dieu Hospital sites are related to travel both outside of Ontario, as well as to and from those areas in the province that are currently in control (red) or lockdown (grey) zones," an information bulletin from the Kingston Health Sciences Centre said.

The new questions are:

  • In the last 14 days, have you travelled outside of Ontario?
  • In the last 14 days, have you visited/resided in or had guests from a location in Red or Lockdown (Grey) status or outside Ontario? 

For the purposes of the screening, "visited" means anyone who spent more than 15 minutes indoors or within an enclosed space in a red or lockdown region.

"Family members who answer 'yes' to either question will not be permitted to enter the hospital except under special circumstances, such as if they are visiting someone who is actively dying. Caregivers accompanying a minor are encouraged to make alternative arrangements wherever possible," the KHSC said. "Outpatients who answer 'yes' to either question will be managed with extra precautions. Inpatients who answer 'yes' will be placed under quarantine for a period of eight days."

The KHSC says work is underway to help patients and families make the necessary changes in the registered visitor system to ensure the visiting process can continue as smoothly as possible.

You can find out more about the restrictions here

“KHSC requires patients and visitors alike to answer these questions due to the continued increase of community spread of COVID-19 throughout the Kingston area and additional regions across Ontario entering red and grey status,” Dr. Gerald Evans, KHSC’s medical director of infection control, said in the bulletin sent Saturday.

“High-quality health care is our top priority and that’s why we must work together to protect the 500 inpatients we have in our facilities on any given day. Now is the time for all Kingstonians to exercise extreme vigilance to help protect our most vulnerable community members – and each other.” 

On Friday, the Ontario government announced York Region and Windsor-Essex will be placed in the lockdown category of the government's tiered framework system starting Monday and London-Middlesex, Simcoe Muskoka and Wellington, Dufferin and Guelph will be placed into the red zone.

Kingston also reported a record number of new cases on Friday and remains in the "Yellow-Protect" level.

With files from CTV News Toronto's Sean Davidson.