West Hertfordshire hospitals will reintroduce visiting restrictions amid rising cases of Covid-19.

The trust, which covers Watford General Hospital and hospitals in St Albans City and Hemel Hempstead, will temporarily suspend visitors from Saturday (January 1) following concern of the spread of the virus in the local community.

It is said the situation will be monitored carefully and reviewed after two weeks.

However restrictions this time will be slightly different than those seen during lockdowns, with maternity services not affected by the changes.

There will also be exceptional circumstances to allow some visitors, which includes when:

• The patient is receiving end of life care.

• The patient is in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

• The patient is a child on a paediatric ward, being visited by their parents or an appropriate adult.

• The patient has a mental health issue, where not having a family member present would cause distress to the patient.

• The patient has dementia, a learning disability or autism, where not having a family member present would cause distress to the patient.

Tracey Carter, the trust’s Chief Nurse, said: “We recognise how important visiting is for patients and their families.

“However, the increase in cases locally does now pose a greater risk and we feel that it is now necessary to restrict visiting to keep our patients and staff as safe as possible.

“We hope to be able to ease these restrictions as soon as we can do this safely.”