COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions on the rise in Quebec and Ontario

The number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations continued to rise in Quebec and Ontario on Monday, prompting concerns about the capacity of those province’s health-care systems.

Ontario reported 1,646 people in hospital as of Monday, an increase of 133 patients over the previous day.

The number of people in intensive care with COVID-19 rose by 14, to 619, with 408 of them needing to be placed on a ventilator.

Toronto’s chief medical officer of health said the city could see 2,500 daily new COVID-19 cases by the end of April, even with a stay-at-home order in effect.

Dr. Eileen de Villa said the city is also stepping up its vaccination campaign but it’s still not enough to offset the impact of the highly contagious virus variants driving transmission in the city.

Concern over high transmission prompted some hospitals in the province to start reducing elective surgeries and non-urgent procedures Monday to ensure they have the capacity to treat more COVID-19 patients.

Quebec reported a 22-person jump in the number of hospitalizations on Monday, after an increase of 25 the day before. The province has 630 COVID-19 patients in hospital, with 142 requiring intensive care.

Health Minister Christian Dube urged Quebecers age 55 and up to get vaccinated at walk-in clinics offering the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, as the province works to inoculate essential workers and those with serious underlying health conditions.

Canada’s chief public health officer said the number of hospitalizations has been rising across the country and that the increase is putting pressure on health-care resources.

Dr. Theresa Tam said in a statement that the average number of people being treated in Canadian hospitals between April 2 and April 8 rose seven per cent compared to the week before, while ICU admissions rose by 23 per cent.

Tam said the people being hospitalized and receiving intensive care are increasingly under the age of 60 and infected with the more transmissible variants.

“This is a reminder that serious illness can occur at any age, and evidence indicates that variants of concern can be associated with more severe illness and increased risk of death,” she wrote.

Tam said there are more than 33,000 confirmed cases involving contagious variants in Canada. Most still involve the B.1.1.7 variant first detected in the United Kingdom. But Tam said there has also been a “concerning rise” in the number of cases of the P.1 variant, which is particularly worrisome because it may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2021.

The Canadian Press