The Department of Veterans Affairs has taken the drastic step of banning visitors from its spinal cord injury wards and 134 nursing homes, except for close family members of dying veterans.

H/T: Military Times

“While the COVID-19 risk to average Americans remains low, these commonsense measures will help protect some of our most vulnerable patients,” VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said in a release. “VA will make every effort to minimize the impact of these policies on veterans while putting patient safety first.”

The decision is backed by research based on more than 72,000 COVID-19 cases in China by the Journal of the American Medical Association shows people over the age of 60 account for over 80% of the coronavirus deaths.

If you have symptoms such as fever, cough and shortness of breath, call before you visit a VA medical center or clinic. In addition to calling first, consider using virtual care options such as telehealth or My HealtheVet Secure Messaging. https://t.co/Vl26ArHdzu — Veterans Affairs (@DeptVetAffairs) March 11, 2020

UPDATE: VA now says 10 veterans have tested positive or presumptively positive for #COVID19.

Palo Alto, Calif. (1)

Southern Nevada (1)

New Orleans (1)

Denver, Colo. (1)

Portland, Ore. (2)

Puget Sound, Wash. (2)

Atlanta (1)

Fresno, Calif. (1)https://t.co/EvM3RojjDI #Coronavirus — Abbie Bennett (@AbbieRBennett) March 12, 2020

Read the full news release from the Department of Veterans Affairs below.