Amid a rise in flu cases throughout Michigan, the Detroit Medical Center is implementing new visitor guidelines. 

The new guidelines are effective at all DMC locations, including the Children's Hospital of Michigan, beginning Monday, Dec. 8. 

DMC's new visitor guidelines are as follows: 

• All patients are allowed up to two visitors at any one time.
• Visitors ages 12 and under, including siblings and other relatives, will not be allowed on inpatient hospital floors or in the observation units. 
• Visitors ages 13 and over who have a fever, cough or rash are asked to visit patients at another time. This applies to both private and semi-private rooms. If hospitals have policies that are more restrictive than the proposed guidelines, they will continue to use them.
  
• Visitors who exhibit illness or cold symptoms are encouraged to visit during a period of wellness.  

"We have seen a marked increase in flu positivity in pediatric patients, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has also reported an uptick across the state," said Dr. Teena Chopra, MPH, Corporate Medical Director of Infection Prevention and Hospital Epidemiology and Antibiotic Stewardship for Detroit Medical Center. "So we wanted to move quickly to protect our patients and the community."

State officials say that there were 14 pediatric influenza deaths during the 2024–2025 flu season — the highest mark since the state began tracking pediatric flu mortality in 2004.

Between October 2024 and May 2025, state health officials reported more than 33,000 hospitalizations related to influenza.