As New Brunswick hits an all-time high for COVID-19 hospitalizations, a family doctor in the province is sounding the alarm bells.
Public Health reported on Friday that 69 people were hospitalized with the virus, 17 of them in intensive care; 14 people are reportedly hooked up to a fan.
These record numbers come as the province is forced to cope without 545 of its healthcare workers, 347 who have COVID and 198 who isolate themselves as a precaution, says Health Minister Dorothy Shephard.
“In the coming weeks, the healthcare system is likely to be put to the test like never before,” Shephard said in a briefing on Friday morning.
READ MORE: Known active COVID-19 case count surpasses 7,500 in NB, hospitalizations rise to 69
In Miramichi, a doctor says the health system is already undergoing serious tests.
Family doctor Dr. Roxanne MacKnight says stress from her colleagues in the field has been intense for a while, and the province needs to toughen up if it wants things to get better.
“We are not mitigating the spread of this virus enough,” she says.
Dr. MacKnight drew attention this week when she took her frustrations to Twitter.
“New Brunswick needs to close NOW,” he wrote in his post.
She says she wants to see the province implement measures the way Ontario did this week, with gatherings limited to 10 people inside in most cases, and closed dinners, bars and gyms, among other things.
Much of the doctor’s wish list aligns with Level 3 of the New Brunswick Winter Alert Plan, but the province just moved to Level 2 on December 31.
MacKnight says that the rapid spread of Omicron has already taken us further.
“I can only tell you what I hear from my colleagues and what I see,” she says. “This is already overwhelming and we feel like it’s time to slow down.”
Shephard answered a series of questions about this in Friday’s COVID-19 briefing: She asked why the province is not tightening restrictions to mitigate the storm it predicted itself.
She says the conversation about going to Level 3 “is not out of the question,” but did not provide much information about the conversation itself.
“The best decision we can make is the best decision we make on all the information on any given day,” Shephard said.
At the briefing, it was announced that New Brunswick would open its booster eligibility even further than expected next week, allowing anyone 18 and older who is five months away from their last vaccination to make an appointment.
Read more:
NB to extend COVID-19 booster eligibility to people over 18 years of age
Dr. MacKnight says that will help.
“We need people to get vaccinated,” she says.
“I know they are hearing this from all the briefings and people are tired of hearing this, but we are seeing that people who are not vaccinated are sicker.”
The province’s eligibility for the third dose opens on January 10.
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