Information on coronavirus

Erasmus MC is and will remain safe to visit. We have introduced measures to make your visit as safe as possible and prevent the spread of infections: 

• In public spaces, all our employees wear surgical masks at all times as soon as they are on the move. These are the areas accessible to patients, visitors and people accompanying patients.
• When our healthcare staff are in direct contact with patients, they wear a medical face mask or face shield/safety visor. This applies in the outpatient clinics, nursing wards and departments such as blood taking and radiology.
• We make sure infected patients remain separated from other patients.
• We have arranged things in the hospital to make sure that patients and visitors can keep a safe distance from one another; this includes waiting areas.
• We spread out appointments throughout the day so that there are never too many patients in the hospital at the same time.
• Healthcare staff are temporarily not shaking hands to prevent transmission of bacteria and viruses. All of our healthcare staff are fully trained in hand hygiene and are tested for the coronavirus if they display mild symptoms. In addition, we make sure consultation and treatment rooms are cleaned more regularly than usual. In order to provide you with proper care, it is not always possible to keep a distance of 1.5 metres between you and the healthcare provider. All of our protective measures are designed to ensure that we minimise the risk of the virus being transmitted.

At Erasmus MC, normal care continues safely. All specialisms hold consultation hours at the outpatient clinics. However, to prevent the spread of coronavirus you must observe several measures: 

• Wear your own face covering if you are over the age of 13. If you are a patient with coronavirus-like symptoms, then we will swap your own face covering for a surgical mask when you enter the hospital.
• You must wear your mask at all times, including in waiting rooms, treatment rooms and patient rooms. 
• You may only remove your mask briefly to eat and drink (at a distance of 1.5 metres) or if required to do so for treatment.
• Keep a distance of 1.5 metres from each other. Please wait for each other if necessary. 
• Do not shake hands.
• Wash your hands regularly with soap and water and touch your face as little as possible.
• Cough and/or sneeze into the crook of your elbow.
• Use disposable handkerchiefs or tissues.
• Use contactless payment when entering or leaving the parking garage.
• The accompanying of patients and visiting during your stay at the outpatient clinic is limited. Bring no more than one companion with you and invite no more than one visitor during your stay. For more information, please refer to our visiting rules.
• Please do not arrive at the hospital too long before the time of your appointment (no more than 10 minutes). If you are too early, please wait in the central area (het Plein/the Square or de Passage) at the hospital entrance.
• Follow the most direct route to your appointment and leave the hospital immediately after your visit.

Video: Safe care during corona - Erasmus MC 

Your appointment at Erasmus MC 

• If you are invited to attend an appointment, it is important for the sake of your health that you come to the hospital. Three days before your appointment at the outpatient clinic, you will receive a text message asking you to log in to My Erasmus MC and complete the COVID-19 questionnaire. Please also complete the questionnaire if you have already been vaccinated. If you have symptoms that could indicate a coronavirus infection, we will advise you on the protective measures that need to be taken.
• For example, your healthcare provider may decide to postpone your appointment if it is medically justifiable.
• Your healthcare provider may want you to have a coronavirus test first. Or see you in a special isolation room and ask you to wear a face mask during your appointment.

Do not come to the hospital without having first contacted your practitioner if you have a head cold, fever, shortness of breath or a cough. If the person who would normally accompany you has any of these symptoms, ask someone else to go with you instead. If this is not possible, discuss the matter with your practitioner. This also applies to children and their parents/guardians.

Your healthcare provider may decide that it is preferable to arrange an appointment by phone or video consultation. This will allow you to talk personally and directly with your healthcare provider without having to come to the hospital for your care.

Postponing your appointment 
It is important to us that you receive the care you need. Your healthcare provider will assess what is best in your situation. If he or she invites you to an appointment or calls you to arrange a hospital admission or outpatient treatment, it is important for the sake of your health that you come to the hospital. Do not delay care unnecessarily and seek help if you have any symptoms. Healthcare is safe at Erasmus MC. If you are anxious, please get in touch with the appropriate outpatient clinic or department. We are here to put you at ease.

However, if you are still anxious, you can alter your appointment without charge provided you give us at least 24 hours’ notice. If the appointment is for treatment or surgery, please contact the appropriate department.

Your admission or treatment at Erasmus MC

You will be notified personally about your admission or day treatment at the hospital.  There is no need to call the hospital about these matters. We recommend that you check your email and phone regularly if you have a scheduled admission or day treatment coming up soon.

We ask everyone to wear a face mask in public areas. Therefore, during your hospital stay, we will ask you to wear a face mask whenever you leave your room. 
After your treatment, we may transfer you to another hospital or care centre to continue your recuperation. We do this to ensure our specialist care remains accessible to everyone and so that we can free up beds to admit new patients. Our folder, ‘Transfer to another hospital after admission to Erasmus MC’ explains why we have to do this and what it may mean for you. We hope you will understand the need for this temporary measure.

Outpatient cancer treatment and admissions 
Outpatient or inpatient cancer treatments such as chemotherapy or radiation and scheduled admissions will continue as usual. We will get in touch with you if this changes. 

Who can I contact if I am anxious? 

If you are anxious about your visit to Erasmus MC, please call the main number of the hospital: (010) 704 0 704. Have your patient number to hand when you call. 

Other measures 

Some specialisms, centres, and outpatient clinics have their own page of frequently asked questions about coronavirus. See our overview (Dutch only).

Registration of visitors

Visitors to patients in the clinic will be registered as of Tuesday 9 February. This registration is intended to monitor and maintain the tightening of the visiting rules. No more data will be requested at the time of registration than is necessary for this purpose. The registration data will be destroyed at the end of the day.

Curfew and discharged patient

Family members who collect a patient who leaves the hospital after discharge late at night fall into the category of carers. They are allowed to be on the street during the curfew. A statement of its own is sufficient in this regard.

In an acute or urgent situation, the documents may be displayed afterwards, if you are held standing.

Visiting rules

Due to the emergence of the British strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, additional nationwide measures are being put in place. For this reason, stricter visiting rules will apply at Erasmus MC as of Saturday 23 January:

• Visitors with COVID-19 symptoms: do not come to Erasmus MC, even if your symptoms are very mild, and get tested.
• Your safety and that of our employees is paramount. For this reason, you are asked to complete the Corona questions test before coming to the hospital.
• Keep a distance of 1.5 metres from each other, even when visiting a hospitalised patient.
• We ask everyone 13 years of age and older to wear their own face mask or safety visor (face shield) when visiting Erasmus MC.
• You must wear your mask at all times, including in waiting rooms, treatment rooms and patient rooms.
• You may only remove your mask briefly to eat and drink (at a distance of 1.5 metres).
• Parents of hospitalised children must wear a face mask while care is being given.
• Leave the patient room as little as possible, do not visit any other patient room or patient areas in the department, e.g. the coffee/tea lounge. After your visit, please leave the hospital as soon as possible.
• Our staff will inform you of any exceptions to the visiting rules.
• Different visiting rules apply to Erasmus MC-Sophia (see below)

Accompanying patients to outpatient appointments

• No more than one person may accompany each patient.
• If you are too early, please wait in the central area (het Plein/the Square or de Passage) at the hospital entrance.

Clinic visits

• no more than one visitor per patient per day between 11:00 am and 7:30 pm
• AD building (multi-person rooms) no more than one visitor per patient between 11:00 am and 7:30 pm according to the visiting schedule
• Exception: if the patient is discharged after 7:30 pm, the visitor may stay until after visiting hours to accompany the patient

Visiting intensive care (adults)

• Visits to unit A/B: 1 hour per day (1:00 pm to 2:00 pm), no more than 2 visitors per day per patient
• Visits to unit C/D: 1 hour per day (3:00 pm to 4:00 pm), no more than 2 visitors per day per patient
• Visits to IC-8: 1 hour per day (1:30 pm to 2:30 pm), no more than 2 visitors per day per patient
• Visitors may not take each other’s place during the same day

These rules apply to visiting patients in the Adult Intensive Critical Care Unit:

• Visits to unit E/F: 1 hour per day (between 11:00 am and 7:30 pm), no more than 2 visitors per patient per day
• Visitors may not take each other’s place during the same day

Visiting patients in the Sophia Children’s Hospital

When accompanying a child for an outpatient appointment: 

• No more than one parent or guardian per child is allowed
• The other parent/guardian may watch and listen on a video call, should they wish.

When visiting a patient in the clinic: 

• Only visits from up to 2 parents/guardians are allowed 

Visiting the Paediatric ICU and Neonatal ICU:

• Observe the visiting rules of the department.

Staying overnight during the coronavirus pandemic
With the permission of the doctor or nurse, you may stay overnight in the hospital with your loved one or sick child. This also applied during the coronavirus pandemic. We will ask you to fill out a questionnaire about your own health every day. By asking overnight visitors to do this every day, we are able to monitor closely whether anyone might be developing coronavirus symptoms. We do this for the safety of our patients, and for the sake of your health and ours.

 

If you test positive for coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 virus) while staying in Erasmus MC you will be cared for in isolation. This is necessary for the sake of your own safety and to prevent the spread of infection to other patients, visitors and healthcare staff. We are happy to explain what this means.

Depending on your symptoms and whether or not you were admitted to intensive care, there are various options available to aid your recovery, such as a physiotherapy recovery programme (Dutch leaflet).

If you are experiencing mental health issues such as tension, anxiety, melancholy or difficulty concentrating after being discharged from hospital, then we are happy to give you some tips and recommendations on how to deal with these problems and where you can find professional help.

Instructional video for former coronavirus patients 

Have you had coronavirus and are you still suffering from a range of symptoms? Are you not being given any professional aftercare? If so, then we hope the video below will help you through your recovery. In this video you will see the following:

• Two lung specialists explain about recovery from coronavirus
• The physiotherapist gives you practical tips for rebuilding your fitness and muscle strength.
• The dietitian will tell you what to eat to help you make a full recovery.

If you have coronavirus or have had it, we badly need your medical data and tissue samples for the purpose of scientific research into coronavirus and COVID-19. It will be anonymous medical data that cannot be traced directly back to you. This data includes x-rays, scans, test results, residual tissue etc.

We store this data under randomly chosen code numbers. To give maximum protection to your privacy, we will never mention your name, date of birth, or patient number. The data will remain confidential and will be stored securely and not kept longer than necessary for this research.

Objection process

You may object at any time to the use of your medical records and tissue samples for scientific research into coronavirus and COVID-19. If you submit an objection, we will not use your data or tissue samples.

More information

More information and the objection form can be found at ‘Left-over material for medical research’.

Please have a look at our patient leaflets on corona (some in Ducth only)

How is coronavirus spread?

The greatest risk of the novel coronavirus being transmitted is in droplets. It is therefore very important to cough and sneeze into the crook of your elbow or use paper tissues. 

Bacteria and viruses (including the novel coronavirus) can also be transmitted on your hands. For this reason, our health care providers are temporarily not shaking hands. All healthcare workers in the hospital are trained to practise hand hygiene to prevent the transmission of bacteria and viruses. 

For other information on coronavirus, please visit the RIVM website.

More information?
Erasmus MC researchers receive extensive media coverage when it comes to developments related to coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. A selection of this coverage can be seen in our news release overview.

I am pregnant. Am I at greater risk?

No, we have observed that the course of coronavirus infections is the same as it is with women who are not pregnant. We are not aware of there being any increased risk of miscarriage or birth defects due to infection with this virus. However, for the sake of your health and that of your unborn child, you must attend check-ups and appointments. Read more on pregnancy and coronavirus (Dutch only).

I have a weakened immunity system. Am I at greater risk? 

The risk of catching coronavirus is the same for you. As with any disease or disorder, the course of an infection with coronavirus varies. If you have any concerns about how coronavirus may affect your disease or disorder, we advise you to contact your practitioner. 

Coronavirus and cancer 

In our online information session for cancer patients (in Dutch), we can tell you more about the impact of coronavirus on cancer treatment.

Coronavirus and children

For information on coronavirus in children, please refer to the position statement by the Paediatric Association of the Netherlands (NVK). The NVK has drawn up a paper that answers key questions about children and coronavirus. 

At Erasmus MC, groundbreaking research is being conducted to defeat the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. This includes research into an effective drug to treat patients suffering from the virus. We conduct research on vaccines and their effects, and on the behaviour of the virus itself. Our work will allow us to put a stop to the current pandemic and prevent another one. For this and other research projects to continue, we count on the financial support of individuals and companies. We appreciate any donation, however great or small. 

If you would like to find out more about our coronavirus research and how you can help, please visit our fundraising site.