“We have discontinued our additional plans to remain vigilant and assess the situation in our community,” he said. Joseph’s in a statement on Wednesday. At this point, the network of hospitals has not closed something that has already reopened. However, sewage signals for the province are rising sharply – possibly at or above the Omicron peak in January – according to data published by the Ontario COVID-19 Scientific Advisory Board. The resurgence comes as Hamilton Public Health reports the first confirmed cases of flu in the city in more than two years. Hamilton hospitals are feeling the pressure as the number of staff and doctors isolated due to COVID has more than doubled in two weeks. Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) and St. Joseph’s was down 728 workers on Wednesday, compared with 292 on March 22. “The pressure on a hospital is not just from extra patients,” HHS President and CEO Rob MacIsaac wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. “Healthcare workers are also catching the virus, further reducing the already limited number of staff.” The number of non-working staff increased by 118 in just one day from Tuesday to Wednesday. Absences from COVID have been steadily rising over the past month, approaching a high of 1,032 on January 17 during the Omicron peak. “The vast majority are community or household reports,” he said. Joseph. “We expect the number of healthcare workers isolated due to COVID to increase and we are actively monitoring the situation of our staff to prepare for possible shortages.” The strain comes at the same time as a mandatory vaccination policy in St. Louis. Joseph’s is set to take effect on Thursday. A similar policy has been in effect on HHS since January 26. St. Joseph’s confirmed that it is moving towards the final step of ending its progressive disciplinary action against 59 non-compliant workers. It accounts for less than one percent of St. Louis’s 6,072 staff and physicians. Joseph. “Our responsibility is to help protect health workers in this environment where vulnerable populations are cared for,” he said. Joseph’s. Local hospitals are also battling overcrowding. The occupancy rate was 110 percent at Juravinski Hospital on Wednesday and 106 percent at Hamilton General Hospital. “HHS operates steadily above our total funded bed capacity before the COVID-19 pandemic,” the network said in a statement Wednesday. “The pandemic has exacerbated these pressures.” It’s important because hospital networks are trying to get through a combined backlog of 14,585 surgeries. At the same time, the flu reappeared in Hamilton for the first time since March 30, 2020. Five laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza A were reported by April 5. “While influenza cases in Hamilton and throughout Ontario remain low, (Hamilton Public Health) encourages all those who have not already received the flu vaccine to get vaccinated against the flu as soon as possible,” a statement from update on Wednesday. Public health is also trying to trigger COVID vaccines, which have been discontinued. The city launched a six-week promotional campaign on March 31 to increase its third-adult rate by 57 percent. Benefit coverage ranges between 71 percent and 86 percent for Hamiltonians aged 60 and over who are entitled to a fourth shot on Thursday. At the moment, hospitalizations for COVID are low in Hamilton with 52 on Wednesday. However, the serious illness is an indicator that lags behind and in other parts of the province imports have begun to increase. “We are really seeing a lot more COVID cases,” Kevin Smith, CEO of the University of Toronto Health Network, wrote on Twitter on Wednesday. “We know what works. Mask. Washing hands. Distance. Vaccination. Please Do it.” The Hamilton modeling by Scarsin Forecasting shows that the COVID resurgence can no longer be prevented and can last until the summer. The daily average of cases was up to 142 on Monday compared to 56 on February 23. Cases in high-risk environments rose to 21 on Wednesday, after remaining stable at five to 10 for more than a month. The cases include 10 cases at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Center from March 21. “If you feel that COVID is everywhere right now, it’s because it is,” wrote Dr. Menaka Pai, a member of the Hamilton Science Board, along with a photograph of the Ontario sewage signal that goes almost straight. “Call, clean the air, vaccinate, reduce your mobility and contacts.” SHARE:
