THE Alexandra Hospital in Redditch has introduced a number of tough visiting restrictions and said people can only see loved ones with coronavirus if they are nearing the end of their life.

The stark message is a reminder of the very real crisis the country, and the rest of the world, is currently facing amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

The Advertiser reported last week that parts of the Alex Hospital have had to be quarantined because people kept coming to the A&E saying they think have coronavirus.

It was also reported that a number of wards were being used as isolation areas to try to prevent coronavirus spreading in the community.

It came as the UK was told it had “no time to lose” in changing tactics in order to prevent thousands of deaths and the NHS being overwhelmed.

Now, amid reports of wards full of positive cases of the disease, the hospital is saying that to protect patients, visitors and staff, it has introduced tough new restrictions on visiting times.

A statement on the website says: "While we understand the difficulties this may cause, these measures are an important part of the effort to contain the spread of coronavirus. Please cooperate with our staff and respect these guidelines.

"For wards being used for patients who have tested positive for Covid-19 or who are awaiting the results of Covid-19 tests, visiting is only allowed for those patients who are nearing the end of their lives.

"For all other wards we are asking the public to limit visiting and to consider other ways of keeping in touch, like phone calls.

"Visitors must be immediate family members or carers."

It added: "Visiting is only between 6pm and 7pm. Visitors should not visit any health and care settings, and this applies to all inpatient, diagnostic and outpatient areas, if they are unwell.

For more information on the restrictions, go to worcsacute.nhs.uk/news-and-media/925-coronavirus-patient-information.