Montreal public health on alert in the face of the rise in COVID-19 cases

The Montreal health network will be put to the test in the coming weeks. No less than 3,668 new cases of COVID-19 – 90% of which are linked to Omicron – were recorded in the metropolis on Thursday. Authorities report that if hospitals are overflowing, some small emergencies could close their doors 12 hours a day so that their staff can be reassigned to hospitals that will need reinforcements.

“One in five people who come for a screening test is positive,” said Montreal’s regional director of public health, Dr.^re Mylène Drouin, in press briefing. This is unheard of. And there is certainly an underestimation of the reality because a lot of people fail to make screening appointments. Rapid test cases are not necessarily declared. “

Cases are exploding in the metropolis, particularly in central neighborhoods, such as Petite-Patrie, Plateau-Mont-Royal, Mile-End, Villeray, Montreal downtown and Hochelaga. “Young adults, through social contact, have become infected,” said D^re Drouin.

The regional director of public health invites Montrealers to apply the rule of the gathering of six people now rather than waiting until December 26, the date on which the government measure comes into force.

“I can understand that for Christmas Day, the 24th and 25th, in a mental health context, to have little gatherings, with maybe just the parents or the immediate bubble,” said D^re Drouin. In these secure contexts, with ventilation and all the measures, I think we can afford it. The idea is not to increase the number of gatherings, events, places without a mask. “

The regional director of public health wants “to cut the transmission just before Christmas to prevent the increase [des cas] does not affect older people. The overwhelmed contact tracing teams are also focusing on “most vulnerable groups”, such as those aged 60 and over, seniors living in residences for the elderly, homeless shelters and workers. health, said the D^re Drouin.

Infected citizens are now involved. They must themselves notify people they have been around closely (indoors, without a mask and for more than 15 minutes) 48 hours before their symptoms or test. (see box “What to do if you have symptoms or a positive test” below).

“We have sent over 2,000 letters to families whose children are associated with outbreaks in their classrooms,” added Dr.^re Drouin. On [leur] asked to [s’]isolate. »Public Health invited them to use their kit of five screening tests distributed by schools, rather than going to a center.

Load shedding

The Montreal health network is on high alert. Thursday morning, 181 people with COVID-19 were hospitalized, which corresponds to an increase in hospitalizations of 60% compared to last week, said Sonia Bélanger, President and CEO of the CIUSSS du Center-Sud-de- Île-de-Montréal and representative of the city’s COVID-19 command center.

For the moment, 550 beds are reserved for patients suffering from COVID-19 in Montreal. According to the latest projections, this capacity could be reached as early as January. “Depending on the situation, we could increase the number of beds to 1000 in the coming days,” said Sonia Bélanger at a press briefing.

In order to increase the number of beds available for infected patients, health establishments in the metropolitan area have started to relieve activities in outpatient and outpatient clinics. “Surgical interventions are reduced by 50%,” added Sonia Bélanger. We could go as far as reducing the opening of certain small emergency rooms to help out in places where there would be more traffic. “No particular emergency has yet been targeted,” she said when questioned.

Other measures are planned, according to Sonia Bélanger. Medical specialists will be reassigned to vaccination and will assist in intensive care and emergencies. General practitioners, for their part, could offer their help in CHSLDs, private residences for the elderly and in home support.

Sonia Bélanger said she was “quite worried” about the surge in cases, which reached an all-time high on Thursday. The Montreal network has 1,200 fewer healthcare workers because they are COVID-19 positive or in isolation. In addition, there are 1,000 employees absent for other reasons. “The pressure is extremely important,” she stressed.