Ontario hospitals begin to brace for fourth wave of COVID-19
As the Brampton Civic Hospital celebrated zero COVID-19 patients in critical care Wednesday, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, the Ontario Hospital Association (OHA) warned that an impending surge in virus case counts could represent a threat to the province.
“This pandemic is ending but a fourth wave could still inflict a deadly toll on the unvaccinated,” OHA president Anthony Dale said in a statement.
The association called on Ontarians who had not yet received two doses to get fully immunized before an anticipated autumn increase in case counts—in what is now being called the pandemic of the unvaccinated.
“I think it’s going to be primarily be younger unvaccinated children [affected], and of course the adults who have chosen not to get the vaccine,” York Region emergency physician Dr. Steve Flindall said of a fourth wave.
“I’m really hoping the vaccinated individuals in the population will act as a firebreak between transmissions.”
Many experts remain optimistic that Ontario’s health-care systems will not succumb to the same strain as during the third wave of the virus, when non-urgent surgeries had to be postponed and patients were transferred between hospitals to access critical care.
“The risk of being on the brink of collapse of the hospital and health-care system, like we were in April—I don’t think that we should see that, or expect that, in the coming months because of the vaccine rate that we have here in Ontario,” said Dr. Dale Kalina, medical director of infection and control at Joseph Brant Hospital.
Kalina pointed to the recent spikes in COVID-19 cases in the U.K. and the U.S.; in the U.K., where the vaccination rate is comparable to Ontario’s, the increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations was minimal. But in Florida, where only 59 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated, hospitalizations increased Tuesday to a level that surpassed the record set before vaccines were even available.
“We’re running out of materials, our staff is exhausted, we’re really really straining,” Florida infectious disease specialist Dr. Aileen Marty told CTV News Wednesday.
“It’s particularly distressing that so many of our patients are young, otherwise healthy individuals that can’t breathe.”
“Given that thousands of Ontario children under the age of 12 will be returning to indoor in-person learning in just a few weeks, it's vital that all eligible residents receive both shots to keep transmission levels low, protect vulnerable populations and ensure that access to non-COVID related hospital services is not disrupted a further time,” said Dale.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.