COVID case growth `not sustainable' for Sask. health system, doctors hear
A senior official with the Saskatchewan Health Authority says the province's health care system won't be able to cope if the recent growth in COVID-19 cases continues.
Dr. Julie Kryzanowski's presentation to more than 100 physicians at a virtual town hall last week has been posted online.
She said in the last week officials recorded exponential growth in infections, outbreaks, hospitalizations and deaths.
“We do know that with this rate of growth it's not sustainable for our health system and continues to stress our capacity,” Kryzanowski told doctors on Thursday, hours after the health authority announced it was diverting up to 60 staff to respond to the surge.
For almost three weeks, masks have been mandatory in indoor public spaces provincewide and no more than five visitors have been allowed to gather inside a home.
Kryzanowski said in her remarks that the public health orders “are expected to help dampen that rate of growth. But we also know that there's momentum behind this, so as those measures are introduced, the more restrictive those measure need to be.”
The presentation stated that “the slower measures are implemented the more restrictive the measures will need to be.”
The effect of the latest public health orders added almost two weeks ago — a 30-person limit for public venues and no team sports — will take several weeks to see any impact, Kryzanowski said. She said the effectiveness of the rules depends on how many people comply.
Doctors were also told to expect a time lag between hospitalizations for COVID-19 and a change in case numbers.
“Hospitalizations, ICU admissions, deaths will continue to rise even as case numbers are maybe flattening because of that lag period.”
Premier Scott Moe and other health officials were to reveal details of a rollout plan for the COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, which also marked the province's deadliest day of the pandemic yet, with six additional deaths. The announcement was delayed until Wednesday because of a power outage.
Five of the people who died were in their 80s and one was in their 30s. The province also reported 183 new infections and said 144 people were in hospital, with 27 in intensive care.
Moe told the legislative assembly on Monday that it appeared case numbers were stabilizing, but that the seven-day average for daily cases was still too high at 264.
Moe said the province has ultracold storage in place to receive the Pfizer vaccine, pending Health Canada approval, and that the first doses are expected to land in the country next week.
The premier said his Saskatchewan Party government will start vaccinations “as quickly as physically possible.” Health care workers and long-term care residents are to be first in line to get a shot.
Moe said vaccinations will happen in phases determined by health officials.
The government said getting a COVID-19 vaccine will not be mandatory, but a communications plan will be part of the distribution.