CENTRAL FLORIDA — As the state sees a record number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, one of the state's largest health care systems is making significant changes.

What You Need To Know

  •  AdventHealth Central Florida has changed its visitation policy

  •  Patients with COVID-19 are prohibited from having visitors; other patients are limited to one at a time

  • COVID-19 patients under 18 will be allowed two adult caregivers at a time

AdventHealth Central Florida is prohibiting in-person visits for patients who test positive for COVID-19, and is limiting patients who don’t have COVID-19 to one visitor at a time.

The restriction does not apply to COVID-19 positive patients under 18, who can see two adult caregivers at a time.

As Central Florida’s largest hospital system, AdventHealth gets a lot of visitors.

Jenny Perez was sorry to see the restrictions, because when COVID-19 hit last year she was denied visitors at a very special time in her life.

“I was actually giving birth," she said. "I was only allowed — my husband actually wasn’t even able to see my child be born because of the COVID."

Knowing how tough that can be, she said it was unfortunate that AdventHealth is restricting visitors yet again.

“This is sad and you can’t really control this thing,” Perez said. 

Friday AdventHealth officials said 1,060 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 across all their Central Florida hospitals.

That number has increased by 200 since they announced last Monday that their ICU was full.

Which prompted the visitation policy change that went into effect Monday.

The restrictions are demoralizing for patients, Perez said.

“Maybe they put us in body suits to see our families off, because some people are actually dying, and they’re dying alone,” she said.

Patients who are COVID-19 positive and need a C-section, will be allowed two visitors a day.

The hospital system says the change is to help “AdventHealth team members better care for the increasing number of COVID patients” and ensure they “have capacity in the future.”

The change includes hospitals in Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Lake, Polk, Volusia and Flagler counties.

AdventHealth says 94% of the patients with COVID-19 who are filling up their hospitals are unvaccinated.

Perez said she hopes the changes will encourage more people to get vaccinated, so more people don’t have to give birth alone.

“Care for others because some people are actually not reacting to COVID the way you would react, so just care about the next person," she said.