As COVID-19 cases continue to mount, partly due to the Omicron variant, some Montreal hospitals are starting to see a spike of positive cases even within their own staff.
In an internal memo obtained by Global News, officials at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) issued a sobering notice to staff Tuesday morning.
According to the memo, there were at least 20 COVID-positive patients between the Montreal General Hospital and the Royal Victoria Hospital, and the workforce has been greatly affected since 77 staff have also tested positive between the two institutions.
According to the notice, there are currently two outbreaks at the Montreal General, including one in the emergency room.
The memo read, “the vast majority of these positive cases were community acquired; however, we are also experiencing some health-care worker to health-care worker transmission as well.”
On top of that, the notice said there were more than 50 health-care workers in quarantine because of contact with family members who had tested positive.
In a video briefing late last week MUHC officials alerted staff about the spread of COVID among employees. The presentation said 22 new cases developed in three and a half days a week ago, seven of which involved the Omicron variant.
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All this comes after Quebec health minister Christian Dubé asked the public to be extra careful in light of the highly transmissible variant, so as not to overwhelm the health-care system.
“Our key problem right now,” Dubé told reporters Monday, “is we have a lack of personnel for many reasons. You know they had a terrible last two years and that’s the reason we have a lack of personnel.”
In a statement, MUHC spokesperson Annie-Claire Fournier wrote, “a contingency plan is in place and a rigorous follow-up is being conducted with staff. Sanitary measures have been reinforced on the care units. Patient care is our priority and at this time, services are not affected by the current situation.”
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