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Ontario Hospitals Are Now Opening Children COVID-19 Clinics As Cases Rise
Appointments are booking up fast.
The Windsor Regional Hospital in Ontario opened an additional COVID-19 assessment centre for children on August 31.
The Paediatric Urgent Medical Assessment (PUMA) opened amid an increase in the need for pediatric testing, the chief nursing executive at Windsor Hospital, Karen Riddell, told Narcity.
"We started planning for it a couple of weeks ago. As you know, we have another COVID-19 assessment centre located at our elect campus, and what we've been seeing over the last few weeks is an increase in demand for pediatric testing," said Riddell. "And then, of course, we've got our rising rates in Windsor-Essex County."
Why is there a need?
Riddell says they have also been "looking down south in the U.S. the southern states in particular," which have been seeing high rates of pediatric hospitalization and impact from the Delta variant.
"Back again locally, we know that our school are going back in another week, so we're going to be getting back into in-person learning, and any time we move inside, we know that increases risk for transmission of COVID-19 and, in particular, the Delta variant."
"So what we wanted to do was make sure that [..] we had enough capacity for the potentially increased demand but also look at the opportunity to consolidate all of our children that are presenting for testing at our Metropolitan campus so that we've got easy access to our pediatricians and having that expertise on hand."
What has the response been?
On opening day yesterday, Riddell said they had 60 available slots, 59 of which were booked up. She expects today will be equally as busy.
PUMA offers "COVID-19 testing, urgent care medical assessment based on potential COVID-19 symptoms, and, where appropriate, COVID-19 vaccinations using the approved Pfizer vaccine for those born in 2009 or earlier," and will be open seven days a week from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. according to the hospital website.
Do other hospitals have similar programs?
Michael Garron Hospital has also relaunched its Paediatric Emergency Department COVID-19 Assessment Zone for the back-to-school season, according to a statement from Dr. Kyle Vojdani, chief of the emergency department.
"We understand the COVID-19 testing and assessment experience can be stressful for families. As students prepare to go back to school, Michael Garron Hospital (MGH) is re-launching its Paediatric Emergency Department (ED) COVID-19 Assessment Zone to provide a safe and accessible space for symptomatic children and families in East Toronto to receive COVID-19 tests and assessments."
PUMA and Micheal Garron Hospital's Paediatric Emergency Department COVID-19 Assessment Zone both require online bookings to visit their children's assessment centres.
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This Map Shows Just How Bad Ontario's COVID-19 Situation Has Become (PHOTO)
The one province makes up nearly half of all active cases in Canada.
The reality of Ontario's third wave is well-known within the province, but the situation really stands out against the rest of Canada.
As of Saturday, April 17, Ontario had more than double the number of cases than anywhere else in the country, with officials recording 40,694 active cases of COVID-19.
Editor's Choice: Doug Ford Is Now Reversing Some Aspects Of Ontario’s Stay-At-Home Order
According to data from the federal government, Ontario's case numbers stick out like a sore thumb, making up 46.7 percent of all of Canada's recorded active cases.
When it comes to cases as a percentage of the population, Alberta's case rate is actually worse than Ontario's — 391 cases per 100,000 people vs. 276.
But residents of either province will no doubt look enviously at provinces like the Yukon, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Atlantic Canada, which seem to be handling COVID-19 a lot better at the moment.
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Trudeau Reached Out To 3 Atlantic Premiers About How To 'Help' Ontario Right Now
The PM said Ontario's COVID-19 cases are "rapidly rising."
In response to the “rapidly rising” number of cases of COVID-19 in Ontario, Justin Trudeau reached out to provincial leaders from across the country.
In a tweet on Saturday, April 17, the PM revealed he’d spoken with three Atlantic premiers about how they could help Ontarians “get through this third wave.”
Editor's Choice: Doug Ford Is Now Reversing Some Aspects Of Ontario’s Stay-At-Home Order
This afternoon, in response to rapidly rising numbers of COVID-19 cases across Ontario, I reached out to Premiers… https://t.co/9IGXRwaeWD— Justin Trudeau (@Justin Trudeau)1618700969.0
Sharing a photo of himself working from home, the PM confirmed that he’d spoken with Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey, P.E.I. Premier Dennis King and Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin.
Health Canada data shows that all three regions had less than 45 active cases of COVID-19 each as of April 17, 2021. As of the same date, Ontario had 40,694 active cases.
The province has now introduced a new stay-at-home order in an effort to combat its rising cases of COVID-19, although some aspects of the order have already been reversed.
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Ontario's Stay-At-Home Order Needs To Be Extended To 6 Weeks, Says Top Doctor
If it's not extended, the province could see 15,000 cases daily.
On Friday, Ontario's updated COVID-19 modelling data was presented, painting a severe picture within the province.
According to data provided by Dr. Adalsteinn Brown, co-chair of Ontario's COVID-19 science advisory table, in order to avoid cases surging above at least 15,000 daily, Ontario's stay-at-home order needs to be extended to six weeks rather than the current four.
Editor's Choice: Ontario's Hardest-Hit Region Has Over 12,000 More Active COVID-19 Cases Than Other Spots
If restrictions remain the same, with an extended six-week stay-at-home order, the province could expect to see just over 10,000 cases daily.
If stricter measures are enforced during this time, which Premier Doug Ford is apparently considering, Ontario's cases could remain under 5,000 a day through to June.
Ford is scheduled to make an announcement Friday afternoon and stricter measures are on the table, he says.
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