Canadian health workers are bracing for the painful blow of a punishing third wave

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But many of Canada’s health workers had warned that some provincial governments were reopening too soon after a troubled post-Christmas wave.

“So we’re stuck where we have cases that are getting out of hand, hospitals full, not enough vaccine available, and months of tough public health measures ahead,” Dr. Michael Warner, director of critical care at Michael Garron Hospital in Toronto, told CNN.

Provincial governments across the country are now considering a damaging third wave of Covid-19 that could endanger the universal health care system that Canadians are so proud of.

From coast to coast, over thousands of miles and hundreds of hospitals, many provinces are now watching with excitement as the number of cases increases. That’s happening now that worrying variants are spreading a more contagious virus to younger Canadians and sending more people to hospital.

And nowhere in Canada is the hospital situation more critical than in Ontario, the country’s most populous province.

“The government didn’t listen to scientists, they didn’t listen to epidemiologists, they didn’t listen to doctors other than their chief medical officer for health. And because they didn’t listen to scientists, they thought they could negotiate on their own. But the virus is too strong. , the variant is a different disease, ”said Warner, before adding that his ICU had 115% capacity on Friday.

Ontario Prime Minister Doug Ford defended his actions on Friday when he announced new restrictions, including extending a stay-at-home order until at least mid-May, banning indoor and outdoor gatherings, and restricting non-essential travel in and out of the province.

During a newsletter on Friday, Ford insisted that he has always acted scientifically, adding that in the case of the recent surging critical care admissions, he drafted tougher public health policies “as soon as he found out”.

“Whatever we put in will take some time to take effect. So right now the trajectories of Covid hikes are really ingrained, and I think the next two to three weeks for Ontario and Canada will be very, very hard,” he said. says Dr. Fahad Razak, who treats coronavirus patients at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto.

On Saturday, Ontario once again broke new records for both hospital and ICU admissions. A model released by the county’s expert advisory panel on Friday contained a dire snapshot of the crisis already unfolding in hospitals and how the situation is likely to get worse.

“Note that our hospitals can no longer function normally – they are bursting at the seams,” said Dr. Adalsteinn Brown, co-chair of scientific advisers in Ontario. “We are setting up field hospitals and separating critically ill patients from their families by helicoptering them across the province for care. Our children’s hospitals now allow adults as patients. This has never happened before in Ontario. It never happened.” in Canada earlier. “

Brown was remarkably blunt about a worst-case scenario: Ontario could be forced to ration, especially for critical areas of care.

“Maybe there just isn’t the option of putting them in beds like this,” said Brown.

Health workers are “extremely angry” about the situation, Warner said.

“We’ll be there, we’ll do our best, but I’m trained to save people, not to use a checklist to decide whether people will live or die. But that’s where we’re going, and that’s my biggest fear, ‘said Warner.

In most of Canada, the epidemiological data is alarming. The exception was the Atlantic provinces creating a bubble, with some of the lowest rates of Covid-19 in all of North America,

Health Canada reported a 35% increase in hospital admissions – and a more than 20% increase in ICU admissions across Canada in the week ending April 11. Even more troubling is the mortality trend, with a 38% increase in deaths in the past week alone.

Head intensivist Dr. Ali Ghafouri, second from left, will meet his team in the intensive care unit at Humber River Hospital in Toronto on Tuesday, April 13, 2021.
Some public health workers say many counties have relaxed restrictions too quickly and too quickly. And in Ontario, many health care providers say that given their scarcity in Canada, vaccines should have been allocated more quickly to marginalized communities.

In many of Canada’s largest cities, vital workers in factories, meat processing plants and distribution centers have been affected by dangerous outbreaks.

Dozens of doctors in Ontario have demanded on social media that these workers have safer working conditions and easy access to sick pay when they contract or need to be tested for the virus.

Most provinces – including British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec – are starting to focus on these workplaces and community hotspots with mobile testing and vaccination clinics.

However, some health professionals are quitting because those programs have not been set up quickly enough to save them and their patients from the devastation of a third wave far worse than the first two.

“It’s clearly a crisis, we’re in the middle of a crisis right now. It’s not a week away – we’re in it now,” Razak said.

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