Waterloo Wellington hospitals still at near capacity amid COVID-19 surge

Hospitals in the Waterloo Wellington area are still near full capacity as of Tuesday and continue to face staffing shortages as COVID-19 hospitalizations surge.

Hospital officials provide an update on Waterloo Wellington hospitals on Tuesdays and Fridays. According to the latest report, a total of 166 patients in hospital have tested positive for COVID-19. Officials said others remain in care who are now considered resolved.

According to the latest update, St. Mary's General Hospital's acute care capacity is at 104 per cent as of Tuesday.

"I think overall the picture is similar in terms of what we're seeing in terms of the pressures on the hospital," said Lee Fairclough, president of St. Mary's. "We remain concerned that the numbers are still rising, really, since Friday to Tuesday. Our daily numbers in the hospital have gone from 151 to 165 across the region. Over the weekend they were higher than that."

Other hospitals in the area range from 92 per cent to 98 per cent acute car capacity.

ICU capacity is over 80 per cent at all hospitals, the update said.

"Patients seeking care at our local hospitals are quite sick and the majority are unvaccinated," the update said in part. "All hospitals are actively working to open additional beds in both traditional and non-traditional room spaces (such as surgical recovery areas as temporary wards)."

Fairclough says hospitals across the region are working to make more beds available, including some in temporary wards like surgical recovery areas.

"We hope that will make quite a difference as those come online to help us cope," she said.

As of Tuesday, there are 509 staff members across Waterloo Wellington hospitals who off work because they have tested positive for COVID-19 or were exposed to the virus. That number has dropped since Friday, when there were 570 staff off work.

“The number of patients requiring care continues to outpace our resources. You need only look in the faces of the staff and patients in our hospitals including those in stretchers lining our hallways, to understand the tremendous pressures we are facing," Lee Fairclough, president of St. Mary's and COVID-19 response lead for Waterloo Wellington hospitals, said in the update. "From this vantage point, we see that Omicron is serious and is not through with us yet. Vaccination continues to be one of our most impactful tools against more severe infection. Thank you to the community for continuing to do your part by getting vaccinated and limiting any unnecessary contacts.”

Fairclough also adds that people should reduce social contacts even if public health restrictions are lifted.

"We're not out of this yet, that is very clear," she said. "Even if there's a sense that there'll be easing of measures, I would still just ask peopl to really protect yourself and reduce contacts where you can."

Here is a further break down of hospital data provided by Waterloo Wellington hospitals: