St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe announced updates to its visitor guidelines and screening criteria to stop the spread of COVID-19.

The new guidelines limits visitation to one adult visitor per patient per day. No person who has visited Orleans or Jefferson Parish in the last 14 days will be allowed to enter the facility.

Visitors must receive a temperature check and answer the following questions:

• Do you have any symptoms of a respiratory infection, such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath?

• In the last 14 days, have you had contact with someone with a confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, someone under investigation for COVID-19 or are ill with a respiratory illness?

• Do you live in a community where there have been multiple confirmed COVID-19 cases?

• Have you visited Orleans Parish or Jefferson Parish in the past 14 days?

• Have you traveled internationally within the last 14 days to countries with sustained community transmission?

Visitors who have a fever or answers "yes" to any of these questions will not be allowed to enter the facility.

St. Francis is also temporarily stopping public attendance at the hospital chapel Mass. Daily Mass will continue to be celebrated, however the Service will instead be made available only for patients. Members of the hospital's Pastoral Care team will serve as Eucharistic Ministers for the distribution of communion to patients and team members who request it.

The new guidelines go into effect March 16.