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Some hospitals have delayed operations due to staff shortages related to COVID, but the health minister says the impact must be short-lived.

The Ontario health minister says some hospitals have had to postpone operations due to staff shortages amid the sixth wave of the pandemic, but she is optimistic that tensions over the health system will soon ease.

Christine Elliott commented to reporters after a press release in Uxbridge on Friday morning.

“We have liberated people, there is no doubt about that. There is a shortage of staff because people are sick with COVID. However, Dr. (Kieran) Moore pointed out that the peak of this COVID wave seems to have been reached, and although we will probably see an increase in some hospitalizations next week, as this is a lagging indicator, then we will see the numbers decrease and we will have more people who can return to work, “she said. “In some cases, they (the hospitals) had to postpone some operations for a short period of time, but they try to keep all the emergency departments as open as they can.

GTA hospitals have reported hundreds of unplanned absences among staff in recent weeks, either because they tested positive for COVID-19 or because they were in close contact with someone who did.

The Ontario Scientific Advisory Table also said last week that positive cases among health workers have actually reached the peak seen in the midst of the initial Omicron wave in January, which further “shocks hospital operations, contributes to burnout and affects the ability to provide health care services.” . ”

Against this background, several hospitals had to postpone operations, and in the case of St. Mary’s Memorial Hospital near London, to close their emergency department overnight.

However, Elliott told reporters on Friday that he expected any impact on hospital operations resulting from COVID-19 absences to be short-lived.

“We have a lot of cooperative relationships between hospitals right now, so they’re trying to transfer patients where they can, do other surgeries where they can, and that’s really important,” she said. “There aren’t many good things you can say about COVID, but one thing that has happened that is positive is the very collegial relationship that all Ontario hospitals have with each other. So they help each other get through this short period of time until everyone gets back to work. “

The province will extend the mandate of the high-risk mask

There has been a slow increase in the number of COVID-19 active outbreaks associated with hospitals, even as the number of cases decreases in the wider community.

Ontario hospitals reported 82 active outbreaks this morning, up from 77 at the time last week and 57 two weeks ago.

“Sometimes we look at the number of new cases a day or the number of hospitalizations or the number of people in the intensive care unit, and you know, these are important indicators that tell a very important story. But behind the scenes you have to have an army of people who take care of them and these are your outpatient providers, your hospital providers. It’s not just doctors and nurses, is it? And when so many people are sick because they got COVID or have been exposed to COVID, it’s much harder to take care of that population, even if that number of people, for example, is now lower than in the previous wave. ” , infectious disease specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch told CP24 earlier on Friday. “If you just don’t have so many hands on deck, it’s much harder to provide the same high quality of care that Canadians expect and deserve.”

Elliott told reporters on Friday that there would be an official announcement later this afternoon to extend the mandate for masks for high-risk areas, including hospitals, which was due to be lifted on April 27th.