Moscow hospitals’ ICUs open their doors to relatives

Family members of persons at hospitals in Moscow in critical or intensive care have won the right to visit their loved ones at any time of day, thanks to a new policy instituted by the city’s Health Department. According to the new rules, visitors will be limited to two at a time, and they must change into sterile clothes. Currently across the rest of the country, patients in critical or intensive care are not allowed visitors in most cases. In early July, the State Duma passed the first reading of legislation that would dramatically expand visitation rights.

In 2017, several Moscow hospitals launched a pilot program, expanding the visitation rights of relatives with loved ones in intensive care. That policy is now in force at all hospitals throughout the capital.