CLEVELAND (WJW) — There is no longer a limit to how many people can visit University Hospitals patients.

“We know that patients benefit clinically and emotionally from family and friends visiting them in the hospital,” reads a Friday news release from the hospital system.

Visiting hours are from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. But those hours are flexible, based on patient care needs and “compassionate exceptions,” reads the release.

Visitors’ overnight stays must be coordinated with clinical staff. Visitors may have to stay in certain areas of the hospital “as reasonably necessary or clinically appropriate,” it reads.

Visitors also are no longer required to wear a mask in common areas like cafeterias, elevators and parking buildings.

Masks are still required in areas where patients receive care, including their rooms; during patients’ direct interaction with caregivers; and in waiting rooms reserved for patients.

The hospital system plans to follow local COVID-19 transmission and community levels and adjust its masking rule accordingly, according to the release.

“We remain committed to the safety of our most vulnerable patients. Family and friend visitors to inpatients are asked not to visit when they are sick and to self-screen before entering UH hospitals,” it reads.

Masks became optional for patients, visitors and caregivers at the Cleveland Clinic on April 20, though they may still be required in certain units, FOX 8 News reported.

Ohio’s two-week average of new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents has declined since the beginning of the year, as has Cuyahoga County’s.

Ohio had an average of 84.7 new cases for the two weeks ending April 5, down from 203.4 new cases for the two weeks ending Jan. 4, according to Ohio Department of Health data. Cuyahoga County’s average number fell from 217.6 new cases in early January to 95 new cases in early April.