This Dad Hid His COVID-19 Symptoms to Sneak-Meet His Newborn & It's Not OK

Bonnie Azoulay
·4 min read

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There are many dos and don’ts amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. Wash your hands, practice social distancing, and don’t ignore blatant guidelines issued by medical professionals. If those rules mean you end up missing your child’s birth, for example, that definitely sucks. But pandemic safety protocols are in place for a reason. If we want to stop the spread of COVID-19, we all have to make sacrifices. Why is it somehow so hard for some asshole dads to follow the rules?

A few weeks ago, one dad took his daughter to a father-daughter school dance mere hours after a family member was diagnosed with COVID-19. Yikes. And now, we’ve learned that yet another reckless dad admitted to hiding his own COVID-19 symptoms to so that he could sneak in a visit to his wife and newborn at the Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester maternity ward. WHAT?

Sure, this probably happened with the best of intentions (I mean, no one wants to miss the birth of their baby), but it’s far from reasonable given the spread of the virus and the necessary containment/quarantine measures in order to even remotely slow it down. And get this: Shortly after the mother gave birth, she started showing symptoms. Only then did her husband admit to concealing his own symptoms. Neither have officially tested positive, but one thing is clear: That dad, however new and however proud, should have stayed the hell away from the maternity ward entirely so as not to infect his wife, his newborn child, and all the other new birthing parents in the ward.

Since the incident, the hospital has implemented stricter rules to prevent this from happening again; they’re now screening all visitors for symptoms and taking their temperatures themselves. Other affiliated hospitals have also guaranteed to do the same.

“In keeping with guidelines issued by the Monroe County Department of Public Health, UR Medicine hospitals have implemented a zero-visitation policy to further our efforts to protect patients and staff from the spread of COVID-19,” UR Medicine wrote on their site. “We understand that this will be difficult for our patients and their loved ones, but we believe that this is a necessary step to promote the safety of our new mothers and children.”

The hospital reassured patients that they can Skype, Facetime, and stay in touch virtually with their loved ones during their stay. Anyone who’s given birth knows this isn’t enough — but hey, sorry, saving lives is most important right now.

Unsurprisingly, Twitter is having a field day with this one.

We have to admit, that last hashtag is a pretty good pun.

If you have (non-baby) kids stuck at home due to coronavirus school closures, here’s how to occupy them.

Launch Gallery: 27 Ways to Keep Kids Busy During School Closures

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