Nearly 60 patients, most diagnosed with COVID-19 and in critical care, were transferred to hospitals on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland recently, to help alleviate capacity limits in Northern Health. (The Canadian Press)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

COVID update

Circuit breaker restrictions hit Northern Health in bid to curb rising cases and hospitalizations

Oct 14, 2021 | 4:50 PM

NANAIMO —New restrictions are coming for most Northern Health authority residents in a bid to curb rising COVID-19 transmission.

Restrictions on household and organized events similar to what was applied province-wide in the spring will be re-applied to Northern Health as the vast region grapples with over capacity in critical care wards.

The circuit breaker measures take effect at midnight, last through November 19 and includes bars and nightclubs closing if full meals aren’t provided, along with suspension of in-person religious services.

“Those are the things we need to scale back now so that we can stop this transmission, we can prevent those people who are not yet protected from vaccination from getting seriously ill, we can take that pressure off our healthcare system,” Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, said.

The pending clampdown, which doesn’t apply to areas such as Terrace, Kitimat, Prince Rupert and Haida Gwaii, restricts personal gatherings to vaccinated people only.

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Health minister Adrian Dix said a lack of capacity in northern hospitals meant nearly 60 patients requiring critical care had to be flown to southern hospitals for treatment.

“All of them very ill, some of them without COVID-19 but without room for them at their hospital in their regions so they can get high quality care. But the majority with COVID-19, in critical condition.”

Of the 58 people flown from Northern Health to other hospitals, 45 have COVID-19 and most were re-deployed to Vancouver Island, Dix told a Thursday, Oct. 14 media briefing.

“This demonstrates why we need to continue to take action together, why we need a circuit breaker to address and continue to support all the other steps we’re taking in Northern Health. We are all in, we have thrown everything in but the kitchen sink and the kitchen sink went in a week ago.”

Sports events continue to operate at 50 per cent capacity for fully vaccinated individuals while indoor organized events can have up to 50 people, while outdoor events such as weddings or parties can invite 100.

The circuit breaker is designed to last over two incubation periods.

B.C. posted 580 new cases on Thursday, with active cases rising to 5,348.

Among those active, 378 people are hospitalized including 153 receiving critical care across the province.

Island Health reported 47 new cases from the last 24 hours, including 22 from the central Island region. Active cases saw a substantial drop of 65, down to 485.

A total of 215 active cases remain on central Vancouver Island, with 217 to the south and 53 in the north.

There is a data discrepancy between Island Health and the province, based on the timing of daily COVID-19 results. NanaimoNewsNOW reports local verified data from Island Health.

According to the BC Centre for Disease Control, 49 patients are admitted to Island hospitals for COVID-19 including 27 receiving intensive care.

Those numbers are not believed to reflect transfers from Northern Health.

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