COVID-19: Quebec hospitals in high demand

The situation is deteriorating as the number of patients admitted with COVID-19 in hospitals in the Quebec area reaches the peaks of the Fifth Wave and emergency rooms are also increasingly being used.

Also read: Sixth Wave of Kovid-19: No watchword for a long vacation

Also read: Kovid-19: More than 2,000 people are hospitalized in Quebec

Also read: COVID-19: The number of hospital admissions continues to rise

After calming down, hospital admissions for three weeks in the Capital-National‌ have been steadily increasing. As of Tuesday, 246 people were bedridden with Kovid-19, close to the record of 266 hospital admissions on January 24.

However, the number of people in intensive care is almost half as high, a sign that the challenges of this new wave are different.

High workload

The Chaudhry-Appalachian region experienced the highest number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the epidemic on Monday, at 130. Of those, only one person was in intensive care.

Although some of these patients receive care for a problem other than the coronavirus, “care and medical teams are under a lot of pressure as a significant number of patients request the application and management of specific measures,” said Mirel Goudrow, spokeswoman. CISSS of Chaudhry-Appalachians.

The workload is high, especially since a significant number of workers are single, she adds.

At the same time, the efficiency of emergencies in many establishments exceeded, for example, 116% at the Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus and 138% at the Hotel-Diu de Lewis.

No more shedding

However, according to Michelle Schaffner-Junius, public affairs adviser at CHU de Quebec, so far there has been “very little extra load shedding”. “To prevent that, we are modulating our day-to-day operations. Our activity levels are similar to those we communicated last March,” she said.

In CIUSSS de la Capitale-National‌, d^R Jacques Girard, medical assistant to the regional director of public health, speaks of a situation that is not currently a concern, especially as 66% of residents in the area have received a booster dose of the vaccine or made an appointment. If you receive it, the regional average is more than 62%.

But for the meetings of the long Easter holiday need to execute judgment, he invites. “Be careful, if you are slightly ill, you can try to postpone your family reunion.”