Hospitals did not take a break during the Christmas recess, and the number of COVID-19 patients continued to rise as several Quebecers gathered with their families. The pressure is being felt, while 141 additional patients have been admitted since December 22, according to figures released Monday by the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé. Healthcare workers, already bruised by the passage of previous waves, are worried about the coming weeks.
“Mathematically, we are all going to face a meteoric rise in hospitalizations and people admitted to intensive care,” says Joseph Dahine, intensive care physician at the Cité-de-la-Santé Hospital in Laval. Hospitalizations there have more than doubled in the past two weeks, and he expects the rise to be even steeper in the coming weeks.
The National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ) has taken a break in the publication of daily data during the Christmas recess. According to an inventory released Monday, 16 additional people were admitted to hospital on December 23, 36 on December 24, 45 on December 25 and 44 on December 26. In addition, 8,231 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the last 24 hours. “We must limit contacts,” Minister Dubé recalled on Twitter.
At the Cité-de-la-Santé, there is still room for maneuver, specifies the Dr Dahine. “We have not yet seen the effect of the load shedding. But it is certain that there is pressure in our hospital, there are not many beds left, ”he adds.
The morale of the nursing staff is also lower than in the first wave. “People look forward to the next few weeks with a lot of trepidation and resignation. We try to deal with it one day at a time, and everyone tries to dig deep to get the energy that is left, he says. This wave is a bit more difficult for the staff. You have the impression that you always have to start all over again. “
Worrying situation
No less than 614 people are currently hospitalized in Quebec, including 109 in intensive care, with a capacity of approximately 800 beds. Quebec has however activated level 3 of the load shedding plan and postpones non-emergency surgical interventions to increase the number of beds allocated to COVID-19.
At the CHU de Québec-Université Laval, “the situation is worrying”, writes in an email exchange with The duty Jean-Thomas Grantham, Assistant to the President and CEO. “Currently, community contamination means that we have several employees who are positive for COVID or in isolation. The next few days will in particular determine the level of load shedding that we will have to reach when activities resume in January, ”he says.
As of Monday noon, 21 people were hospitalized at the CHU, including 4 in intensive care. Some 230 workers were positive for COVID-19, not all of whom were scheduled.
As for the CIUSSS du Center-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, nearly half of the 52 beds planned for patients with COVID-19 are occupied, divided between the Verdun hospital and the hospital Our Lady.
The McGill University Health Center specifies that it has put in place an emergency plan before the start of the fifth wave to take care of patients with COVID-19. “We are dealing with admissions right now. We anticipate having to take care of COVID-19 patients and we make sure we have the necessary staff to do so, ”writes spokesperson Sandra Sciangula in an email sent to Duty.
Thousands of healthcare workers are currently in isolation at home because they have contracted COVID-19. The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) did not respond to our email on Monday when we asked for details.
In the United States, health officials have reduced the recommended isolation time from ten days for people with COVID-19 to five days, if they are asymptomatic, asking them to wear the mask for the next five days when ‘they are in the presence of other people. Last week, the isolation period for healthcare workers was reduced from ten to seven days if they test negative for COVID-19, in an effort to cope with rising hospitalizations and absenteeism. The United Kingdom for its part reduced the time of isolation to seven days for anyone who has been vaccinated and who tests negative on two antigen tests.
In Quebec, a working committee has been set up to look at the shortfall caused by the number of healthcare workers who have to isolate themselves because of a positive result, and recommendations will be made.
Third dose for François Legault
Prime Minister François Legault also received his third dose of vaccine on Monday at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal. He recalled that “from today, all Quebecers who are 60 years old and over can make an appointment” for their booster dose.
“It’s very important, the third dose,” he said, calling on Quebeckers not to sit on their laurels after their second injection. “The experts are very clear: with two doses, we are 30% protected against the Omicron variant; with three doses, it goes up to 75%. “
He added, however, that “75% is not 100%” and that more efforts will be needed to defeat the virus. “It’s important to be careful, not to see too many people, even on New Year’s Day,” he added, saying that he “needs all Quebecers to make an effort so that our hospitals do not overflow. not “.
In all, more than a million Quebecers have received their third dose.
With The Canadian Press