My uncle had a stroke in 2021 and we could only go to the room one at a time to see him. It wasn’t even that intense of an ICU and it was still limited. I would imagine a surgical ICU would be full of people with weakened immune systems who could be easily sickened. I tested negative for 4 days in August while experiencing mild symptoms before I finally tested positive. I’m sorry, but him negative doesn’t really mean much at that point when it’s a known exposure. I’m sorry for your loss and the added stress of additional illness in your family. But, the hospital made the right call. And he did get to say goodbye. A lot of other families didn’t get that chance in 2020 or 2021.