(Montreal) One million Quebecers have contracted a respiratory infection in the last two weeks. “And it will continue to increase,” warned Tuesday the national director of public health, Dr Luc Boileau.
The circulation of respiratory infectious diseases continues its upward trend in the province. “Even if a lot of people have already had COVID, there are still some circulating,” said the Dr Boileau at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. Between 40,000 and 50,000 people contract COVID-19 every day in the province.
This increase is explained in particular by the spread of the new JN.1 variant. “It is not a variant which is more dangerous, but it is much more contagious”, specifies the Dr Boileau.
Influenza A also continues to gain ground, with 10.9% of tests being positive. “We are in a period of moderate activity, but which will move towards a period of much more intense activity”, says the Dr Boileau.
For its part, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is on a plateau, but continues to have an impact on pediatric hospitals, indicates the director of public health. The positivity rate remains high at 10.2%.
As the holiday season approaches, the Dr Boileau invites sick people to stay home and wear a mask until their symptoms end if they have social interactions. He also invites the population, particularly vulnerable people, to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and influenza.
Treat yourself at home
With the circulation of respiratory viruses, the holiday holidays and the labor shortage, the situation remains “excessively difficult” in the health network, declared Tuesday the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé.
He asked Quebecers to avoid emergencies if their situation does not require immediate care. “There is a large proportion of people who consult emergency rooms who do not have urgent problems and should not go to the emergency room. There are alternatives,” he says.
At the beginning of December, pediatric doctors also invited parents to avoid emergency rooms if their child does not need immediate care. The DD Laurie Plotnick, medical director of emergencies at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, instead invited parents to contact the 811 line for advice or a medical appointment.
Minister Dubé, however, stressed on Tuesday that the waiting time to reach 811 is longer than usual. He therefore invites Quebecers to first consult the site quebec.ca to obtain advice on treating themselves at home.
The situation is deteriorating
The situation in emergencies has been “very difficult” for the last 4 to 6 weeks, said Tuesday the president of the Association of Emergency Medicine Specialists of Quebec and emergency physician at the Montreal Heart Institute, Dr Gilbert Boucher.
“There are many establishments which are at 150% or 200% [de taux d’occupation]. Even today, more than 1,000 Quebecers are on stretchers waiting for admission. It’s very difficult to take care of new patients,” he says.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The situation in emergencies “has deteriorated dramatically,” Quebec emergency managers denounced last week. In a sharp letter addressed to the Minister of Health, the Regroupement des chefs d’urgence du Québec (RCUQ) deplores that emergencies have become “out of control”.
“We have challenged you and your team on several occasions in recent months, but inertia remains palpable at all decision-making levels and the crisis is only getting worse,” wrote the president of the group, the DD Marie-Maud Couture.
The high traffic in emergency rooms is not without impact for patients. Investigations were opened after the death of two patients in the crowded emergency rooms of Anna-Laberge hospital in Châteauguay at the end of November. One of them died in the waiting room, according to information collected by The Press. At the time of these tragedies, the emergency rooms at Anna-Laberge hospital were very busy. Their occupancy rate exceeded 200% at certain times.
With Fanny Lévesque and Ariane Lacoursière