Estrie hospitals still under pressure

Despite a slight drop in hospitalizations, several patients affected by COVID are still occupying hospitals in Estrie and Centre-du-Québec, an overload that continues to exhaust health personnel.

Estrie hospitals still under pressure

Despite a slight drop in hospitalizations, several patients affected by COVID are still occupying hospitals in Estrie and Centre-du-Québec, an overload that continues to exhaust health personnel.

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In fact, community contamination is very present and the authorities recall the importance of isolating yourself when you are sick in order to avoid spreading the virus to the most vulnerable.

According to the director of public health for Estrie, Dr. Isabelle Samson, “our indicators show very slight decreases [in hospitalizations] for 2 weeks, which shows that the situation is stable. If you are symptomatic, you should not go to a festival or a mass event.

Dr. Benoit Heppell, of the CIUSSS de l'Estrie-CHUS, maintains that this drop is not being felt in hospitals and that the majority of services are facing heavy traffic which is exhausting the staff in place.

Occupancy rates in emergency rooms are exploding at the Fleurimont hospital in Sherbrooke (139%), at the CSSS de Memphrémagog in Magog (186%) and at the Sainte-Croix hospital in Drummondville (163%).

The impact is also felt in pharmacies, where people go for their health questions. Benoit Morin, president of the Quebec Association of Proprietary Pharmacists, also recalled that boxes of rapid tests are available and numerous for people who wish to obtain them.

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