Following national guidance most hospitals stopped or significantly limited visits to help stop the spread of coronavirus. Although these restrictions have been put in place to prevent the spread of infection and protect staff and patients, we should still allow parents to be with their children. Children should not be allowed to die alone. 

Beyond the possibility of death, being separated from their parents causes children a huge amount of distress, which can be traumatic and may leave long lasting and possibly permanent emotional disturbances, long beyond the current pandemic. It can also impact on their recovery as whether or not someone gets better or worse depends to a significant degree on their emotional state.

As a parent, if my child were to become ill with coronavirus I cannot imagine how painful it would be to not be with them.