For Immediate Release: January 20, 2021
Six Nations of the Grand River community members need to be made aware of the current state of our healthcare system’s capacity, in terms of both COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 related patients. Hospitals are nearing critical capacity risking a collapse of the healthcare system.
The capacity of the health care system is approaching a breaking point of being overwhelmed. Deaths will exceed the first wave of the pandemic before the vaccine has time to take an effect, as projected by the new provincial modelling, if people wait to act at preventing COVID-19.
Daily mortality is increasing and is expected to double, if trends persist, from 50 to 100 deaths per day between now and the end of February.
Dr. Brown, University of Toronto epidemiologist, noted this could cause COVID-19 to be the single greatest cause of death on a daily basis at that point, potentially larger than cancer and heart disease.
Hamilton hospitals are over capacity with ICU admissions, and two of their hospitals are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks.
Surgeries and other procedures may be delayed or cancelled, creating a backlog that could last for months or years. As hospitals fill up, patients are being rerouted to the surrounding COVID-19 units, creating a scenario where a healthcare system could potentially collapse.
If the spread of Covid-19 is not controlled, models show Ontario could see up to 20,000 new cases each day by mid-February in the worst case scenario.
To combat this in the United States, hospitals in several states such as Massachusetts, California, Nevada and Minnesota have implemented field hospitals, who have recruited nurses from other states, and are having to bring in the National Guard for support. In our region, Burlington, Ontario has the nearest field hospital which is in operation trying to address the healthcare strain.
Each Six Nations member has the power to help our healthcare workers in a community-wide effort to alleviate the healthcare system, by doing our part to slow the spread of COVID-19 before critical capacities are reached. Staying home has the potential to reduce risks of needing hospital health care.
To book a COVID-19 test visit www.sixnationscovid19.ca or call 1-855-977-7737 or locally at 226-446-9909.
http://www.sixnations.ca/PressRelease_NeighbouringHospitalsReachingCapacity(final).pdf
