“There is no way we can raise up to 3,000 ICU beds,” Dr. Peter Jooney, director of the COVID-19 Ontario Science Board, told the CTV News Channel on Wednesday. “We have no staff.” Johnny warned that the backlog of surgery in the province could increase as hospitals are once again forced to cancel surgeries because they are “unable to cope with what is already coming”. “We probably already have the highest number of daily infections ever in a pandemic.” Johnny says he agrees with the Ford government’s prediction that fewer people will end up being treated for COVID-19 in the sixth wave because of the “wall of immunity” that has been created in the province. However, according to the head of the scientific table, about “one in 20 people in Ontario” currently has active COVID-19 infection. Johnny warns that the rise in infections could also lead to staff shortages in Ontario hospitals, which will become “more severe” if the outbreak soars into the community. “There is this small wrinkle that people tend to forget; the staff is also knocked out by COVID.” Watch the interview by clicking on the video at the top of this article.
