At the time they most want their loved ones around them, many hospital patients now find themselves alone or with just one visitor.

Visitation policies vary by hospital and have evolved as novel coronavirus has spread, but most in Southern California now allow visitors only after they’ve been screened for possible coronavirus exposure and many only allow visitors to certain areas.

That’s the case at St. Jude in Fullerton, which doesn’t allow visitors to see most patients staying in the hospital. Staff make exceptions on a case-by-case basis, the new policy states.