Increase in hospitals | “Guardians’ morale plummets”

The ever-increasing number of cases and the number of hospitals not taking a break for the holidays. As of 4pm on Monday, there were 12,800 new daily infections in Quebec. The number of newcomers to the hospital has crossed the 200 mark. Thirty children under the age of 10 have also been admitted to hospitals in recent days. Among intensive carers, hospitals fear the worst because of staff shortages, load shedding and outbreaks.

Alice Girard-Bosssey
Press

Messa Fera
Press

“The concern is that cases are not declining. As there is always a delay between cases in the community and hospitalization, there is concern about hospitals, ”said D.^R Joseph Dahin is an intensive caregiver at the Cite-de-La-Sante Hospital in Laval.

“The number of cases and hospital admissions is growing rapidly,” Franకోois Legalt admitted on Twitter on Monday evening. “Fortunately, the increase in intensive care is small.”

The Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubey, will hold a press conference with the National Director of Public Health this Tuesday at 1 p.m.^R Horacio Arruda, and Daniel Pare, director general of operations for the pandemic.

Regional public health directors discussed the curfew return at a pre-Christmas meeting. Postponement of the start of the academic year in CEGEPs and universities has also been discussed.

Curfew can help, but in general we must take action to prevent contact between individuals, believes Professor Benoit Barbeau in the Department of Biological Sciences at UQAM.

“Later returns will also contribute to the decline, but more serious measures are likely to be needed, and it is also possible to restructure some part of the winter season,” he said.

“I’m not sure if the return of the curfew will really change the situation,” said Nathalie Grandwax, director of the CHUM Research Laboratory on host response to viral infections. Private parties and evening meetings are not responsible for the currently rampant cases. The expert thinks that closing the bars is enough.

Curfew is an unpopular act with the population, she continues.

Postponing the start of the academic year, on the other hand, will improve the situation throughout the province. With such a high number of cases and a more contagious variant, returning to class promises to be chaotic. “Anyway, there will be a lot of absenteeism from teachers and infected children,” Nathalie Grand‌wax said.

In the long run, Mr argues, the focus should be on improving ventilation in schools so that schools remain areas of learning and can be prevented from spreading.^Me Grandwax. “We need to get to the root of the problem. It’s unfortunate we did not do it in the summer when we could handle the situation better.”

At present, according to information received, Public Health suggests that the Legault government should wait before imposing new measures Press.

In Quebec, 8,231 new cases were reported on Monday, reaching a daily average of 8,020. There are currently 1,469 active outposts in the province. The number of exams conducted on December 26 was 44,043. The positivity rate is 24.9%, almost five times higher than the World Health Organization’s recommended 5% threshold.

“Dazzling” growth

“If there are more cases, there is a risk that patients will be admitted to the hospital. We can see it slowly filling up,” D said^Back Amelie Boiseclair is an intensive caregiver at Pierre-Lee Gardure Hospital in Terrebone.

The number of those admitted to the hospital on Monday has increased, with a total of 614 people now in the hospital, 44 more than the day before. There are currently 109 people in intensive care.

“The increase in hospitals is being felt in many areas, including my hospital. This is an asteroid increase, ”says D^R Dahine.

An increase in the number of hospital admissions in children under 10 years of age can also be observed. They have an average of 5 people per day to be admitted to the hospital. This is significantly higher than at the top of the second wave, where it is less than 2 per day.

A total of 32 children under the age of 10 were hospitalized in 7 days, including 11 on Christmas day.

Mental fatigue

The doctor warns that the increase in the number of those arriving at the hospital will have consequences on the entire health network.^R Donald Winn is an Infectious Disease Specialist-Microbiologist at McGill University Health Center. “When we get 30, 40 or 100 people hospitalized because of COVID-19, we have to reduce the offer of other services,” he explained.

To prepare for the increase in COVID-19 cases and the number of hospital admissions in the coming weeks, hospitals in the province are called upon to select interventions that they can postpone.

D^Back Boiseclair fears the consequences of load shedding on workers. “The staff was really tired. When you heard about load shedding, a lot of people told me to resign rather than go back to work on it,” she said.

She observes the suffering of her colleagues on a daily basis. “Caregivers need help. There is mental fatigue and moral trauma. If we do not want to lose our enthusiasts, we must support them by intervening and listening. Almost two years later, it’s about time, ”she said.

Fear spreads

D^R Dahin fears that the outbreak in hospitals and the weakened morale among health care workers will make the situation worse. “Resources are dwindling as the courage of the caregiver is diminishing and expanding,” he says.

At Pierre-Le Gardeur Hospital, 3 of the 17 intensive care beds had to be closed due to staff shortages.

“I’m not able to open all my beds in the intensive care unit because I do not have enough staff,” D said.^Back Clear wood. Two respiratory therapists at his center also contracted COVID-19 on Sunday.

In normal times, “we have enough and slightly less staff to provide the right services”, D argues^R Vinh. “We already have a weak army and we will make it even weaker,” he concluded.

In collaboration with Denise Lessard, Florence Morin-Martel and Pierre-Andre Normandin, Press