Hospitals brace for capacity crunch in third wave
CTV News Barrie Videographer Mike Arsalides In the midst of what health officials call the third wave of COVID-19, hospitals report some of the highest numbers of ICU patients since the second wave s peak. In Orillia, there is one COVID-positive patient being treated, yet seven of Soldiers Memorial Hospital s eight ICU beds are in use. The hospital s chief of staff says the more contagious variants have the potential to overwhelm the system. It is going to be worse in the sense of the virus being more easily transmitted, causing more serious illness and affecting a younger age group in the population, Dr. Nancy Merrow says.
BARRIE, ONT. In the midst of what health officials call the third wave of COVID-19, hospitals report some of the highest numbers of ICU patients since the second wave s peak. In Orillia, there is one COVID-positive patient being treated, yet seven of Soldiers Memorial Hospital s eight ICU beds are in use. The hospital s chief of staff says the more contagious variants have the potential to overwhelm the system. It is going to be worse in the sense of the virus being more easily transmitted, causing more serious illness and affecting a younger age group in the population, Dr. Nancy Merrow says.