More COVID-19 restrictions and booster shots possible in Northern Health as cases spread
Health officials are looking at implementing more COVID-19 measures, including possible restrictions or booster vaccine doses, as cases in B.C.'s Northern Health region continue to surge.
The announcement came Tuesday during a news conference with provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister of Health Adrian Dix.
“We are actively working with (our) Northern Health colleagues to determine what additional measures we need to break the chains of transmission across many communities for everyone,” Henry said.
“My public health colleagues are very concerned with what we continue to see in many communities across the north,” she said.
On a per-capita basis, Northern Health continues to have the highest rate of infection in the province by a wide margin. As a result, there are already regional health measures in place, but more may be needed, Henry said.
“COVID-19 is spreading at a higher than average rate, people are becoming severely ill, even young people – mostly unvaccinated young people – and hospitals are pushed to the limit across the north.”
Consideration is also being given to booster shots for certain communities. So far, only seniors in long-term care homes and people who are clinically extremely vulnerable have been offered a third dose of the vaccines.
“We're also looking at whether we need to use three doses in certain communities as a way to manage some of the severe illness, and the outbreaks that we are seeing,” Henry said.
Infection rates in Northern Health are so high that hospitals are over capacity. So far 55 patients have been transferred to hospitals in other health authorities, Dix said.
Forty-three of those 55 patients are COVID-19 patients, and 42 of them aren’t fully vaccinated, Dix explained.
On the Friday before Thanksgiving, four were transferred out, on Saturday five were transferred, one person on Sunday and four people on Monday.
There are currently 63 critical care beds in the north, Dix said, 23 of which are surge beds that have been added to help deal with COVID-19 cases. But even then, it’s not enough to meet the demand for ICU beds in the region.
“Over this Thanksgiving weekend 14 patients (were) flown from communities in the north, hundreds and hundreds of kilometers,” he said.
Dix thanked health-care workers for their efforts on the transfers, and said the province also added two additional planes to the BC Emergency Health Services fleet to help with the transfers by partnering with private sector companies.
“That's how they dealt with their Thanksgiving,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
Statistics Canada reports real GDP up 0.6 per cent in January as Quebec strikes end
Statistics Canada says real gross domestic product grew 0.6 per cent in January, helped by the end of public sector strikes in Quebec in November and December.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Ukrainian child asylum seekers in St. John’s get class of their own
Roughly 50 children will gathered in a St. John’s classroom for the first time on Saturday for unique lessons on Ukrainian language, culture and history.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.