Hospitals in the region are beginning to allow visitors again
Watch a report by ITV News Anglia's Kate Prout
After months of lockdown, some hospitals in the region are beginning to allow regular visitors again.
Most wards have been closed to non-patients since March, but the West Suffolk Hospital and the Norfolk and Norwich are starting to slowly open them up.For two weeks now, relatives have been able to visit loved ones at the West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds.
But a strict regime is in place to keep patients, staff and visitors as safe as possible and to prevent the coronavirus from spreading.
The hospital is also asking that visitors being their own face masks, although they will provide them if they are forgotten. They have already reported people grabbing handfuls of surgical masks when offered, which they say is a problem as there is still a real need for hospitals to preserve PPE for staff.
However, staff go on to say that the majority of visitors are following the rules.
The Norfolk & Norwich hospital has similar restrictions in place. One family member or carer is now able to visit once a day for an hour.
Visiting to all our hospitals was suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic with a few exceptions for children and patients reaching the end of life.
Birthing partners were also allowed.
Most hospitals are lifting some of those restrictions with the exception of Bedford and Luton who remain closed to all but essential visitors.
Back at the West Suffolk every ward is monitored on a daily basis.
They say they will not hesitate to lock down again, should there be even the slightest hint that the virus is returning.