Visitor Policies to Maintain Health and Safety

Updated May 3, 2024

UCSF prioritizes the safety of our care providers, staff, patients and visitors. To prevent the spread of disease, we require everyone entering UCSF facilities to follow basic infection control measures. These include:

If you have cold, flu or COVID-19 symptoms, get tested.
If you have had a COVID-19 exposure, use the digital health screening on this page for guidance on next steps.
If you were recently sick with COVID-19, follow the CDC's isolation guidelines. Recommendations related to other infectious diseases, including influenza (flu) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), can be found on the CDC website.

The rules for visiting patients at UCSF are subject to change at any time, depending on current infection outbreaks as well as government health-related orders. Please check this page for the latest information before you go. You can also learn more about UCSF's approach to COVID-19 safety on our COVID-19 resources page.

Masking

Masks are optional for patients and visitors in UCSF facilities. We strongly recommend wearing a mask at the following times:

During every respiratory virus season, from Nov. 1 to April 30
During sustained periods of high community transmission of respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, RSV and influenza
When you are experiencing respiratory virus symptoms

We provide surgical masks to anyone who asks for one. Masks differ in the degree of protection they provide. We encourage you to wear a facility-provided mask, but you may also choose to wear a mask that provides a higher level of protection (N95, KN95 or KF94).

UCSF staff are required to wear masks in patient care areas during every respiratory virus season and during sustained periods of high community transmission. Patients and their families can ask their health care team members to wear masks at any time during the year.

Please respect and support everyone's individual decisions, including those who choose to continue wearing a mask. Masking helps protect others in our community who may be immunocompromised or at greater risk of serious illness.

Inpatient visits

You may come to see a patient hospitalized at UCSF during regular visiting hours (8 a.m. to 10 p.m.) or during the hours specified by a given department. Check the inpatient visitation chart below for more details. Please do not visit if you have symptoms of a respiratory illness.

Inpatient visitation chart
Patient population	Visitors/caregivers	Hours/duration	Notes/overnight visitors
Adult inpatient	No limit to daily visitors	8 a.m. - 10 p.m.	Depending on room size, you may be asked to limit visitors at the bedside to two visitors. For adult inpatient and birth center, overnight visitors/caregivers limited to one (per unit discretion).
Birth center (labor and delivery/maternity)	No limit to daily visitors	8 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Pediatric inpatient	Two healthy visitors at bedside	8 a.m. - 10 p.m.	Visitors must be on the patient's approved visitor list. Limit of one essential caregiver overnight.
Parnassus emergency department	One healthy visitor	All hours
Mission Bay emergency department	One healthy visitor for adults Two healthy visitors for pediatric patients	All hours
Adult surgery	One healthy visitor	During surgery hours	Visitors may be asked to wait in designated waiting spaces.
Pediatric surgery	Two healthy visitors	During surgery hours

Outpatient visits

Patients are allowed at least one visitor during clinic appointments. For additional visitors, check with the clinic to see whether they can accommodate this. During adult outpatient visits, visitors are welcome in designated waiting areas and may be allowed to enter the exam room if space permits.

Video visits

You may visit a patient remotely (via real-time video) instead of in person. Please ask our staff for help arranging a video visit.

Visiting rules during flu season

From November 1 to May 1, we take extra precautions to minimize the spread of respiratory viruses. During this period, we don't allow children under 5 to visit patients in the hospitals. We may ask visitors to complete a health screening questionnaire or take additional preventive measures.

Information for families of patients in our hospitals

Patients and their loved ones must designate a single individual to be the point of contact for all information and conversations with the health care team.
The designated point of contact will be responsible for sharing information with family members or loved ones who should have this information.
The designated point of contact will hear from a care team member at least once a day for regular updates or more frequently if the patient's condition or treatment changes significantly.
Some exceptions may apply, as determined by the health care team.

COVID-19 self-screener

Visitors no longer need to complete the digital self-screener before entering UCSF facilities, but the tool is still available for guidance on how to handle COVID-19 symptoms, exposures and infections.

You can access the on-demand COVID-19 self-screener from your mobile phone before coming on campus – or when you arrive – by visiting tiny.ucsf.edu/entry on your mobile phone or by scanning the QR code below.

Your privacy: Responses to the self-screening are only used to determine whether you have symptoms of or potential exposure to COVID-19. Learn more: Privacy Policy for the Symptom Screening Program

Smoke-free policy

UCSF is a smoke-free environment. Smoking in and around the hospitals and affiliated sites is prohibited. Hospital patients who smoke will receive nicotine replacement therapy and counseling by our smoking cessation team. Nicotine replacement products are available in our hospital gift shops.