Mayo Clinic continues to support patients and address their health care concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. If you have medical needs, please do not delay seeking care, whether it is COVID-19 related or not. Mayo Clinic has taken precautions to ensure we can safely care for you through both in person and virtual care.
If you have COVID-19 symptoms and need to be tested:
- Mayo Clinic patients who have an assigned Mayo Clinic primary care provider can screen and schedule a COVID-19 test via their Patient Online Services account on the web or in the Mayo Clinic app.
- All others should contact their local primary care provider or local clinic.
If you are asymptomatic but need to be tested, refer to the HHS webpage "Community-Based Testing Sites for COVID-19" which offers assistance locating a COVID-19 testing site.
Before your clinic appointments
If you’ve had a positive COVID-19 test within 90 days of your appointments: Please inform your scheduling team and bring a printed copy of your positive COVID-19 PCR testing results with you, as it may avoid retesting or delays in your care. Only PCR tests, also known as molecular tests, can be accepted.
Your appointment schedule may need to be modified if you test positive for COVID-19, develop symptoms, or have a close contact exposure to someone with COVID-19. Contact us to discuss next steps if any of these concerns arise.
Information about COVID-19 symptoms
You may be asked symptom screening questions when speaking with our scheduling specialists, through text messages or in messages sent to your online patient account. We ask that you opt-in to receive these automated notifications and communications to help us stay in touch with you prior to your appointments. If you need help updating these preferences please call Mayo Clinic Customer Assistance at 877-858-0398.
If you have questions or concerns about lodging, transportation or local restaurants, Mayo Clinic Concierge Services is a great resource. You may also want to review our Mayo Clinic packing checklist.
Attending your in-person clinic appointments
Mayo Clinic has taken several temporary steps to help keep our patients, visitors and staff safe. Please review the following guidelines to help you prepare for your appointment.
Visitors: All visitors entering Mayo Clinic will be required to comply with social distancing guidelines and wear a mask for the entirety of their visit. Visitors who do not comply with these requirements will be asked to leave.
Patients in the outpatient clinic may be accompanied by two visitors. There are no age or rotation restrictions.
- For pediatric patients, a parent or guardian is encouraged whenever possible.
- Please follow all directions from our door screening staff, which may include checks of masks and visitor protocols.
Social distancing: Steps have been taken to promote social distancing on campus.
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Emergency department and hospital areas
- Visitor restrictions are in place that affect visitor access to the emergency department and Mayo Clinic hospitals in Rochester, Minnesota. Visiting hours are 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. daily. Exceptions to visit outside of these hours require care team approval.
Adult patients
- Patients may designate up to five people on the visitor list for the duration of the hospital stay. Up to two of the identified visitors may visit in the patient’s room at one time. To maintain social distancing and protect our patients and staff, we request that visitors rotate coming into the building, two at a time.
- At times, the number of visitors in a patient’s room may need to be limited out of medical necessity, as determined by the care team.
- All visitors must be age 5 or older.
- All visitors under age 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times. Visiting children may not be left unattended at any location in the hospital.
- At the discretion of the care team, two visitors, age 16 or older, may visit overnight on the Adult Care Units. One visitor may remain in the patient’s room to sleep with approval.
Pediatric patients
- Patients or caregivers may designate up to five people on the visitor list for the duration of the hospital stay. Up to two of the identified visitors may visit in the patient’s room at one time. To maintain social distancing and protect our patients and staff, we request that visitors rotate coming into the building, two at a time.
- For the Pediatric unit, visitors must be age 5 or older.
- For the OB unit, visitors must be age 5 or older, with the exception for siblings during Sibling Hours, 4 to 6 p.m. daily.
- Up to two siblings may visit in the mother's postpartum room during Sibling Hours and must be accompanied by one person, age 16 or older.
- During all other visiting hours, up to two people may visit at one time, age 5 or older.
- For the Neonatal ICUs on Eisenberg 3-5 and Mary Brigh 5 D/E, visitors must be age 16 or older. Exceptions will be made for parents under age 16.
- At times, the number of visitors in a patient’s room may need to be limited out of medical necessity, as determined by the care team.
- All visitors under age 16 must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times. Children may not be left alone in any area of the hospital.
- At the discretion of the care team, two visitors may sleep overnight on the pediatric unit. Children age 5 or older may be one of the two overnight visitors as long as they are accompanied by an adult at all times.
- At the discretion of the care team, on the Obstetrics Unit, two visitors may visit overnight while the patient is in labor. Children age 5 or older may be one of the two overnight visitors as long as they are accompanied by a visiting adult at all times.
- At the discretion of the care team, one visitor, age 16 or older, may sleep overnight on the Postpartum Unit.
- At the discretion of the care team, two visitors may sleep overnight on the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. All visitors in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit must be age 16 or older.
All patients
- Faith community visitors must be requested by the patient or family and be identified on the visitor list, as described within the spiritual and religious services information. The faith member may be a sixth person identified on the list and does not need to be counted as one of the five designated visitors.
- All visitors will wear a visitor sticker. Visitors must wear their stickers throughout the entirety of the visit.
- Hospital leaders or their designees will review and approve any exceptions to the visitor policy.
- All visitors must comply with Mayo Clinic’s masking policy and masking exception procedure.
- Patients who are COVID-19 positive or suspected to be COVID-19 positive are allowed one visitor at a time. However, patients may designate two visitors, age 16 or older, on their visitor list. The designated visitors must rotate with each other on a limited basis, such as one during the day, the other at night; every other day; or one during the week, another on the weekend.
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Masks and general safety
- All approved visitors and staff are required to wear acceptable masks that cover both the mouth and the nose to decrease the risk of COVID-19 exposure.
- Hospitalized patients are encouraged to always wear masks but may remove masks when alone in their hospital rooms. Patients are expected to wear masks when any Mayo Clinic staff member enters their rooms and when patients leave their rooms.
- Patients and visitors will be offered Mayo Clinic-provided surgical/procedural masks when they go through the screening process or when they check in. Any visitors must remain masked even when alone with loved ones in their hospital rooms.
- Mayo Clinic recommends surgical/procedural masks but N95 and KN-95 masks without vents and high-quality cloth masks are acceptable.
- Masks should NOT contain an exhalation valve, holes, or vent(s) as these permit unfiltered air to escape. Neck gators and bandanas are also not allowed.
Visiting Mayo Clinic? Be sure to bring your mask
Mask on. Mask up. Mask always.
At Mayo Clinic, safety for everybody is our highest priority. We are a world leader focused on putting the needs of our patients first.
To do this during the COVID-19 pandemic, you may see staff outside caring for patients, but we also need your help inside, to keep us all safe.
For your own safety and the safety of those around you, including your care team, all patients are expected to wear a mask over their nose and mouth while on Mayo Clinic property.
Check to see if visitors are allowed. If they are, they will be expected to follow mask guidelines as well.
Everybody will be required to proceed through a checkpoint for the safety of our community.
Masks must remain on at all times including in the lobby, and when in the exam room, unless otherwise directed by an approved provider.
If you have questions about wearing a mask for your visit, contact your Mayo Clinic location before arriving on-site.
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To reach the Rochester, Minnesota, scheduling office, please call 507-538-3270 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Central time, Monday through Friday or visit us online.
Request appointment
We are scheduling appointments along with testing, imaging studies and procedures that you may need as part of your care.
If you are unable to travel to Mayo Clinic, a telephone or video appointment may be available to meet your care needs. If you are offered a video appointment, you will need a Patient Online Services account which we can assist with at the time of your scheduling.
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