A New York man hid his coronavirus symptoms so he could be in the birthing room with his wife — who now is showing signs of the contagion, according to a report Tuesday.
The upstate expectant dad had been exposed to the deadly virus and began suffering symptoms related to it before he entered the maternity ward at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, the Democrat & Chronicle said.
He only came clean after his wife gave birth and began showing symptoms herself, the site said.
“The mother became symptomatic shortly after delivering. That’s when the significant other admitted his potential exposure and that he was feeling symptomatic,” Chip Partner, a spokesman for the University of Rochester Medical Center, which includes Strong Memorial, told the Democrat.
The situation helped prompt the hospital system Monday to begin mandating that any visitors entering its sites with maternity wards will get their temperature taken.
In terms of visitors reporting symptoms, “It was purely an honor system before,” Partner said.
Some New York hospitals, including in the Big Apple, had announced they were banning dads-to-be and other relatives from the delivery room earlier this month because of health safety fears involving the virus.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo then blocked the move with a decree this past weekend.