A sign at the entrance of UMass Memorial Medical Center - University Campus in Worcester, Mass. indicates that there are no visitors permitted during the COVID-19 crisis. (Steve Lanava/Telegram & Gazette/TNS)

In a move that disability advocates say sets a national precedent, the U.S. Health Department reached an agreement with the state of Connecticut to allow patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities to have support people with them in hospitals. Previously, hospitals had enforced no-visitor policies to slow the spread of Covid-19 with no exception for individuals with disabilities who needed assistants.