COVID hospitalizations increasing in Hamilton
Rising numbers of Hamiltonians are being admitted to hospital with COVID.
The city's weekly update concluded transmission of the virus is still increasing overall.
A key metric used in Thursday's report was the average new hospitalizations, which have more than doubled to 4.3 per day on April 18 from 1.7 on April 4.
Hospital admissions in Hamilton are expected to increase until mid-June," Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) said in an update Thursday. We are likely not at the peak of hospital admissions locally."
HHS also raised the high number of symptomatic kids going to the emergency room at McMaster Children's Hospital. Those needing to be admitted remains low.
We're seeing a unique trend in the current wave of the pandemic: more children with COVID-19 and related symptoms," stated HHS. Some hospitals are reporting the highest number of COVID-related pediatric visits since the pandemic began."
The emergency room visits are a reflection of high COVID spread that is expected to last until June, prompting the city to keep measures in place longer than planned.
Masks will be required for city staff until the end of May instead of dropping next week.
The opening of council chambers has also been put off until the end of May, as well as hybrid meetings.
We are expecting this trend to go on - this elevated level of transmission - through the month of May," medical officer of health Dr. Elizabeth Richardson told the city's general issues committee Wednesday.
Average daily new cases had decreased to 157 on April 19 from 188 on April 14. However, the city reported 348 new cases Thursday. Case counts are a significant underestimate as the general public can't access PCR testing.
The number of tests coming back positive dropped to 16.7 per cent on Thursday from 18.2 per cent on April 16. However, the rate has been bobbing up and down since April 2.
The city reported three COVID deaths on Wednesday and one on Thursday - all seniors age 80 or older. This age group accounts for nearly 62 per cent of Hamilton's 540 pandemic fatalities.
Hamilton had 27 ongoing outbreaks in high-risk settings including two reporting deaths. Retirement home Orchard Terrace Care Centre in Stoney Creek has had one fatality among its 10 cases since April 4. There was also one death at Summit Heights Retirement Residence on the east Mountain, where 26 have tested positive since April 1.
An outbreak at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre was declared over Wednesday after 17 got COVID since March 21. The Barton Street Jail has had at least four outbreaks since the start of the Omicron waves Dec. 1.
Hamilton is now in the midst of the sixth wave driven by the more transmissible Omicron subvariant BA.2 and the lifting of public health restrictions in Ontario.
Please continue to wear your mask, get a COVID booster ... avoid large gatherings and socialize outdoors whenever possible," HHS asked the community.
The rising COVID admissions are significant because the hospitals are already overcrowded. HHS and St. Joseph's Healthcare were caring for 119 COVID patients Thursday. At the same time, occupancy was at 118 per cent at Juravinski Hospital, 104 per cent at Hamilton General Hospital and 133 per cent at Grimsby's West Lincoln Memorial Hospital. Ideal is up to 90 per cent.
Contributing to the strain is the high number of alternative level of care (ALC) patients stuck in hospital while waiting for long-term care and other types of community services. HHS says 206 of its beds are taken up by those ready to be discharged.
Another factor is the significant number of Hamilton hospital staff self-isolating, which was up to 543 on Thursday.
Our real challenge has been so many of our staff going off sick, especially nurses," said Dr. Sunjay Sharma, medical director of Hamilton General's intensive care unit (ICU). The ability to staff the entire hospital is tenuous."
So far, Hamilton's ICUs haven't seen an increase in COVID patients, but that could change in the next two weeks as severe illness lags behind other indicators.
We potentially will see sicker people from COVID, but also it's summer starting and it's trauma season," said Sharma. It's the first time in two years people aren't having restrictions so we anticipate it's going to be busy."
As a result of the increasing strain, HHS says it's not in a position to ramp up clinical services any further at this time. It's currently at roughly 70 per cent of pre-COVID volumes. It's signifiant because Hamilton's hospitals have a pandemic backlog of 14,585 surgeries.
To take some pressure off of hospitals, St. Joseph's advised those at higher risk to get tested and see if they're eligible for antiviral treatment within two days of symptom onset. Those without a family doctor can go to hamiltoncovidtest.ca.
Antiviral treatments are no substitute for vaccinations and not everyone will benefit," St. Joseph's tweeted Thursday. Get vaccinated."
Joanna Frketich is a health reporter at The Spectator. jfrketich@thespec.com