Rising cases of influenza and respiratory viruses, along with lingering COVID-19, across Northwestern Ontario has regional hospitals bracing for more people requiring care, especially children.
Dr. Kit Young Hoon, the medical officer of health for the Northwestern Health Unit, said the three viruses are taking their toll on healthcare facilities, with as much as a 14 per cent increase in illness from previous years.
“Locally and provincially, we are seeing an increase in per cent positivity in COVID-19 and an increase in institutional outbreaks in our area. In recent weeks in our region, we have seen a rapid increase in hospitalization and emergency department visits for respiratory illness, particularly for children. Based on this information, we are predicting a difficult season,” Young Hoon said in a Monday media briefing.
Young Hoon is strongly recommending that people take precautions, such as masking, limiting social interactions, and keeping up-to-date with vaccinations.
People who are sick or showing symptoms of respiratory viruses are urged to stay home for 24 to 48 hours, she added.
Those messages are being further emphasized by a number of local hospital leaders, who also participated in the media briefing.
“I think this is a long journey with COVID. In some ways, some people feel that it’s all over and many people are just trying to live with it, and as a hospital, we are no different," said Ray Racette, the CEO of the Lake of the Woods District Hospital in Kenora.
"It really has not gone away from our lives here and we’ll do everything we can to serve the public as we go through this challenge.”
Racette said cases of influenza and respiratory viruses have gone up to 25 per cent in November, from 14 per cent in October.
“We are just beginning to get into whatever surge is coming our way,” Racette said.
Racette acknowledges that provincial mask mandates are not going to come back, but he is encouraging the public to install their own mandate to help stop the spread of the triple threat of diseases affecting the region.
“We can choose our own mandate as an individual. We can choose to mask and do things like that that have kept us safe during the pandemic because really that is the only way we are going to be able to manage this wave,” Racette said.
Dryden Regional Hospital CEO Doreen Amstrong-Ross said hospitals will be prioritizing emergency care, and people with less urgent needs can expect longer wait times.
"If you are sick and you are not needing medical attention, don’t come to the hospital and ERs,” she said.
Hospitals are also dealing with surges of children under the age of 16. One of those is the Red Lake Margaret Cochenour Memorial Hospital, which has moved pediatric patients into the adult triage wing, said hospital CEO Sue LeBeau.
“In smaller rural and remote hospitals, we have a limited buffer. So, it’s important that people take care of themselves. That they stay home if there ill. That they do what they can to prevent illness as much as possible by masking and limiting gathering,” LeBeau said.
LeBeau said hospitals are also dealing with an ongoing staffing crunch.
“We are only one or two sick calls away from closing,” she said.
Young Hoon said this seasonal wave is hitting earlier than usual.
“The surge we are seeing in respiratory illness is the beginning surge. It is earlier than normal. It is a combination of a variety of viruses that are occurring at the same time. It’s impacting the entire province,” Young Hoon said.
“There are a number of pediatric hospitals that are very negatively impacted and that affects all of us because we are very reliant on them as tertiary centres, as specialized pediatric hospitals, which we don’t have in our region, therefore some of our patients and clients need that service as well.”
Young Hoon said rates of influenza and respiratory virus are peaking, with some jurisdictions in the north going above what is normally seen at this time of year.
“I have data going back to 2017. This has not been seen for five years. So, it has a drastic impact on the health care system,” she said.
