The ability to visit loved ones in our town's hospital has been drastically scaled back, in a bid to tackle the Omicron COVID-19 variant.

Macclesfield District General Hospital, of Victoria Road, have announced a policy change as cases soar in our area.

While times will remain the same, those who can attend to see patients has been changed.

In a statement sent to Macclesfield Nub News, East Cheshire NHS Trust said: "To protect our patients and staff, we have unfortunately made the difficult decision to restrict visiting at the trust with immediate effect to reduce the spread of infection following the new Omicron variant.

"These restrictions will be under regular review and updated to reflect any changes in the guidance.

"A range of exceptions to the visiting policy are in place which allow the following; (immediate family members or carers only)

"Visiting a patient receiving end-of-life care in hospital, visiting is also permitted if you are supporting someone with a mental health issue such as dementia, or a learning disability or autism where not being present would cause the patient to be distressed.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused for family members outside of the above criteria who have already made visiting arrangements. Staff will be contacting you directly to advise you of the new measures."

All visitors must wear a face mask in line with national guidance on entering the hospital and for the duration of their stay.

There were 232 COVID-19 cases in Central Macclesfield as of December 28 2021.

Across the three East Cheshire NHS Trust hospitals, there were 23 patients in hospital with coronavirus on 28 December 2021.

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