Hospitals are being swamped, Tam warns
Ontario sets daily record as nationwide case surge is straining health care
The rising tide of COVID-19 infections across much of Canada threatens to swamp a hospital system already under strain, the country’s top doctor warned Saturday amid case numbers that continued to set records in long-standing virus hot spots.
Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam described the situation in Western Canada, Quebec and Ontario as “worrisome,” hours after the central provinces posted new singleday highs for provincial case counts. The soaring numbers there and beyond, she contended, have potential to overtax the country’s hospitals.
“This situation … it is putting pressure on local health-care resources,” she said. “Hospitals are being forced to make the difficult decision to cancel elective surgeries and procedures in areas of the country to manage (increases).”
Tam said the number of people with severe cases continues to increase, with a daily average of more than 1,400 people being treated in hospitals over the past week. That includes a daily average of 280 people in critical care and 55 deaths reported each day over the past seven days, she added.
But Tam warned that those numbers lag behind overall case increase figures by one to two weeks.
“The concern is that we have yet to see the extent of severe impacts associated with the ongoing increase in COVID-19 disease activity,” she said.
Tam said Western provinces saw a weekly increase in daily hospitalization of 24 to 50 per cent compared to last week. While Ontario and Quebec saw lower increases, those provinces continue to have the highest numbers of people in hospital, she added, saying flu season is also straining hospital capacity.
“This is why it is so important for people of all ages to maintain public health practices that keep respiratory infection rates low,” she said.
Tam urged Canadians to follow public health guidelines to limit the spread of COVID-19. At the current pace, it is estimated that there will be 10,000 cases daily by early December, she said.
“What comes next for us this fall and winter is for every one of us to determine, through our decisions and actions,” she said.
Tam’s warnings come as Ontario and Quebec set new singleday records for new cases. Ontario recorded 1,581 new diagnoses and 20 new deaths on Saturday, while Quebec posted 1,448 cases and 25 deaths linked to the virus.
Manitoba added 237 to its case count, along with multiple deaths tied to a long-term-care facility in Winnipeg that’s the subject of a provincial investigation.