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Omicron is “unlike anything we have encountered” during pandemic: Southlake

January 13, 2022   ·   0 Comments

Over the span of last week, Southlake Regional Health Centre saw the number of patients admitted to hospital increase from 20 to more than 60, leading to an alarm bell being sounded for doctors and nurses on the frontlines.

Last Thursday, Southlake said the spread of the Omicron variant was “unlike anything we have encountered in the pandemic to date” and warned they continue to see “significant numbers” of hospital staff test positive or require time off due to exposure to COVID-19.

“Based on Provincial directives and the need to preserve hospital capacity and reduce the spread of the virus, Southlake has had to make a series of difficult decisions,” said the hospital. “With cases and hospitalizations increasing at an alarming pace, all hospitals in Ontario have been directed to cancel selected surgeries in order to increase bed capacity and free up staff to be redeployed. Southlake is following this directive and staff from our surgical program have already started to care for patients in other areas of the hospital.

“Staffing has become a significant challenge and we are doing everything we can to mitigate this. Healthcare workers are now more impacted by the increased spread of COVID-19 in the community than ever before. This, combined with the increased number of patients in the hospital with COVID-19, continues to put pressure on our teams. Similar to previous waves, we have started to redeploy staff into different areas of the hospital based on patient need. Our amazing staff and physicians are the heart and soul of Southlake. Their dedication, tenacity and compassion has been a constant source of inspiration throughout the pandemic.”

By Brock Weir

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