Sask. health care system strained due to high contact numbers, surging cases

The Saskatchewan Health Authority saysthe province's health care system is strained amid a worsening pandemic.

On Thursday, the SHA gave an update on how it'sramping up its response to the pandemic during a newsconference in Regina.

The announcement came after the province reported 299 new cases and three more deaths.

Officials saythe pressure on the health system is so severe, some non-essential services will have to be reduced in the weeks ahead.

There are currently 108 Saskatchewan residentsin hospital due to the virus.

High contact rate

The SHA saidthe current two week average of cases of approximately214 per day equals to 32,000 hours of contact tracing over a two-week period.

The average case has 7.5 contacts, according to the SHA. That number is dropping, according to the province.

But SHA CEO Scott Livingstone saidthat somepeople who have COVID-19 are in contact with an extremely high number of people.

"Unfortunately, over the last month, some of our investigations have revealed that some individuals have as many as 150 contacts for a single positive case with today's numbers. It's likely we're going to see more increased pressure," Livingstonesaid.

Dr Susan Shaw appeals to Saskatchewan to take COVID-19 seriously

4 years ago

Duration 0:33

Saskatchewan Health Authority Chief Medical Officer Dr. Susan Shaw warns Saskatchewan residents that COVID-19 is everywhere and to take the virus seriously

He saidinfections and contact tracing are affecting health workplaces.

"We've had a number of recent cases where 20 to 30 staff have been forced to isolate, which in some of the smaller facilities across the province, that would completely debilitate them with respect to providing any services at all."

He saidthe more cases there are in the community, the higher the chance a health care worker is a close contact and will have to isolate.

As of Thursday, Saskatoon has 35 COVID-19 patients in hospital. The SHA said Saskatoon is at 97 per cent capacity in itsICU. That leaves the facility with only two open beds.

Livingstone said this indicates that itis critical for the public to follow orders and limit their contacts.

"If we let this go unchecked ... we are sending our health care workers into a lion's den," Livingstone said.

What will be needed

The SHA said the next few weeks are critical for the virus to get under control. It said it plans to use a "dimmer switch" strategy to increase and decrease services. It calledusing field hospitals a last resort.

If cases continue to surge, the SHA will need:

• Additional staff for increased testing and contact tracing.
• Additional hospital staff to support increases inhospitalizations and ICU admissions.
• Additional long-term care staffto support staff cohorting and outbreak management.
• Responsiveness to situations where large numbers of staff are required to isolate due to being a close contact with a positive case.

If the case surge continues, theSHAsaid it will have to create approximately 200 more beds for COVID-19 patients than currently exist in all the hospitals outside of Saskatoon and Regina combined.

SHA surge plans call for addedstaffing to perform contact tracingfor at least 450 cases per day. The SHA said 450 cases per day would create 72,000 hours of work for contact tracers over a two week time span.