Close X
Friday, November 29, 2024
ADVT 
National

COVID-19 hospitalizations increasing in Canada

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 19 Apr, 2022 10:18 AM
  • COVID-19 hospitalizations increasing in Canada

REGINA - Hospitals across Canada are facing a resurgence of patients with COVID-19 that some health officials say will likely continue for another month.

Latest data from the Public Health Agency of Canada shows hospitalizations due to COVID-19 rose about 18 per cent across Canada between April 4 and April 11 — to 6,020 people needing beds from 5,109.

In the last week, Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and the Prairies have all reported an increase in hospitalizations from the virus and intensive care admissions have also inched slightly upwards in some provinces.

Latest available data from the provinces shows Quebec had 2,220 people in hospital and Ontario had 1,301. There were 1,053 hospitalizations in Alberta, 403 in Saskatchewan, 158 in Manitoba and 59 in Nova Scotia.

Dr. Eddy Lang, department head of emergency medicine in Calgary for Alberta Health Services, said his province is in its sixth wave of the pandemic fuelled by the BA. 2 sub-variant of Omicron,but it's not as dramatic as the original Omicron surge.

"No one in health care would support the 'let it rip approach,' but in terms of hospitalization capacity, we're not seeing the same strain in our ICU capacity as we did with (the Deltavariant)and we should be able to manage," Lang said Monday.

During the week of Jan. 24, when Omicron's BA. 1 variant was at a peak, there were more than 11,000 people in hospital across Canada, says the Public Health Agency of Canada.

In mid-March, hospitalizations due to COVID-19 came down to 3,878 before starting to climb again.

Lang said wastewater analysis and data from the United Kingdom suggests hospitalizations could start to level off in mid-May.

Dr. Saqib Shahab, Saskatchewan's chief medical officer of health, also projects the latest resurgence will end within the next few weeks. Canadians, in the meantime, have "unfinished business" when it comes to getting vaccinated, he said.

Earlier this month, Shahab said the bulk of hospitalizations in Saskatchewan were being driven by people who remained unvaccinated or who were vulnerable and hadn't received a booster shot.

That aligns with data from the Public Health Agency that shows as of March 27, people with three doses of vaccine made up about 10 per cent of hospitalizations Canada-wide, while the unvaccinated accounted for 61 per cent. About 20 per cent of patients had had two shots.

"Being fully vaccinated in any age group and getting boosted protects you from hospitalization," Shahab said.

"COVID-19 is not something that's going to go away and over time most of us are going to be exposed to Omicron."

Health Canada says people who are vaccinated are significantly protected from severe outcomes from COVID-19, which include hospitalization and death.

It found that throughout March cases in the unvaccinated were eight times more likely to end up in hospital and 11 times more likely to die compared with the fully vaccinated who had received a booster shot.

MORE National ARTICLES

Marathon B.C. ferry journey ended by tug

Marathon B.C. ferry journey ended by tug
BC Ferries says the Queen of Oak Bay departed Horseshoe Bay at about 8 p.m. Wednesday and was expected to reach Departure Bay on Vancouver Island before 10 p.m. But the 90-minute trip became a five-hour marathon when the company says the ship had mechanical difficulty with its steering gear.

Marathon B.C. ferry journey ended by tug

2022 cryptocurrency frauds net millions: RCMP

2022 cryptocurrency frauds net millions: RCMP
Investigators say in one recent case, a single victim lost $550,000 when he was duped into making a series of investments in foreign exchange companies that turned out to be fake.

2022 cryptocurrency frauds net millions: RCMP

Not Ottawa's job to build houses, Freeland says

Not Ottawa's job to build houses, Freeland says
Chrystia Freeland told the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade on Wednesday that some of the funding will be used to work with provinces, territories and local governments to determine what’s stopping more homes from being built and create the right incentives.

Not Ottawa's job to build houses, Freeland says

A man has been sentenced in the April 2020 shooting of Pritpal Singh.

A man has been sentenced in the April 2020 shooting of Pritpal Singh.
Following a trial in January 2022, Robert Tomljenovic was found not guilty of second degree murder, but guilty of manslaughter and robbery with a firearm.  On April 12, 2022, Robert Tomljenovic was handed a sentence of 12 years less time served.

A man has been sentenced in the April 2020 shooting of Pritpal Singh.

Vivesh Kochher and AVR Drywall Recycling Ltd. fined $20,000 by WorkSafe BC for knowingly exposing employees to asbestos

Vivesh Kochher and AVR Drywall Recycling Ltd. fined $20,000 by WorkSafe BC for knowingly exposing employees to asbestos
WorkSafeBC’s investigation determined that Mr. Kochher had failed to ensure the health and safety of between 13 and 15 workers, by knowingly exposing them to asbestos-containing material.  

Vivesh Kochher and AVR Drywall Recycling Ltd. fined $20,000 by WorkSafe BC for knowingly exposing employees to asbestos

Canada's COVID-19 vaccines starting to expire

Canada's COVID-19 vaccines starting to expire
The 1.5 million expired doses amount to less than two per cent of the 118 million doses delivered to Canada since December 2020. There are more than 18 million doses in Canada's national stockpile at the moment, the vast majority of which will expire in the next four mont

Canada's COVID-19 vaccines starting to expire