The number of positive tests for respiratory viruses, including Influenza and COVID-19, exploded from mid-November on the North Shore. The Public Health Department is concerned regarding the consequences for emergencies and is monitoring outbreaks in certain settings where vulnerable people are present.
In a press briefing this Friday morning, Dr. Richard Fachehoun resumed his prevention recommendations, repeated so often during the pandemic. “Update your vaccinations, wear the mask in public places… Help us avoid more hospitalizations!”
No parties with symptoms
Only one in two Côte-Nord residents has received a vaccine in the last five months, worries the director of public health at the CISSS Côte-Nord. Holiday parties and gatherings are legitimate following the two-year pandemic, agrees Dr. Richard Fachehoun. But people who have symptoms of circulating viruses should not go.
The risk of hospitalization in children under 2 years old is great in the current context, warns the medical specialist. The Director of Professional Services Jean-François Labelle took the opportunity to draw a portrait in emergencies and for hospitalizations. Several beds are occupied by people awaiting relocation to other resources such as a CHSLD, 27 patients are in this situation at the Center hospitalier régional de Sept-Îles.
Overflow in emergencies
“The whole thing creates a high degree of difficulty in managing hospitalizations and isolation zones,” explains Dr. Labelle. The growth of respiratory viruses is also causing an overflow in the emergency room of the CISSS Côte-Nord, admits the director responsible for the teams of doctors in the region.
The occupancy rate regularly exceeds 200% in the emergency rooms of Baie-Comeau and Sept-Îles since mid-November. Public Health invites North Shore residents to call 811 before presenting themselves in an emergency.
“Pharmacists can also provide good advice. We are lucky on the North Shore, they managed the shortage of Tylenol and Advil well. They maintained an inventory, thanks to a rationing of bottles available for young children,” says Dr. Jean-François Labelle.
