VISITING RESTRICTIONS HAVE been put in place at Mayo General Hospital and Limerick’s Mid-Western Regional Hospital because of suspected outbreaks of the winter vomiting bug.

Both hospitals have cancelled all visiting hours because of the presence of the norovirus.

There is an increased incidence of vomiting and diarrhoea illness in the community and hospital settings at the moment and the hospitals are currently receiving more patients presenting with these symptoms.

A spokesperson for the Mayo hospital said, “In order to prevent the spread of norovirus within the hospital and to make sure that visitors don’t spread the virus into other areas of the hospital, we are asking visitors to stay away from the hospital until further notice.”

Arrangements will be made for families of critically ill patients at both hospitals.

Out-patient services will not be affected by the restrictions.

The public has been asked to co-operate fully with the hospitals’ directives and only visit their emergency departments if absolutely necessary.