‘Health care workers are exhausted’: P.A. Public Health Officer

By Dawson Thompson

Hospitals around the province are at capacity and without any changes, the health-care system will be overwhelmed with patients in the next two weeks, leading to serious challenges in allocating ICU beds.

But small actions can help the situation.

This is what Prince Albert’s public health officer, Dr. Khami Chokani, presented to city council on Tuesday night after a recent rise of COVID cases.

Dr. Chokani showed the rates of sick individuals per province, as of September 2, 2021, and nationally, Saskatchewan has the second highest rate.

Data also showed that Saskatchewan has the highest rate of COVID-19 related deaths per 100,000 people at 1.8. The next highest province is Alberta with 1.0 per 100,000.

“Unfortunately, we do rate the highest in the country,” Dr. Chokani said. “This does not put us in a good place as a province.”

The data collected shows that 71 per cent of people hospitalized are either unvaccinated or partially immunized.

“Our public health system has already exceeded its capacity,” Dr. Chokani said. “We are about two weeks away from where our acute care system will be overwhelmed.

“Being overwhelmed means that people will have to make the difficult decision as to who gets the bed in the ICU and who doesn’t.”

He added that young people, aged 12 to 39 years old continue to have the lowest uptake of vaccinations across the country.

“Another thing which is really important is that we are well short of the minimum target of 85 per cent of the entire population to be immunized,” Dr. Chokani added. “This is what we need in order for us to have herd immunity.”

He added that many health-care workers across the province are feeling the negative effects from the pandemic.

“My team and others are really quite exhausted,” Dr. Chokani said. “This has been a rather difficult and challenging 19 months. Without us having the provincewide mandates, the teams are really feeling quite defeated. It is a very challenging situation.”

When comparing data from last year, it shows that the situation may be worse now.

“In the two-week period from Aug. 14 to 29 [last year], we had only two cases below the age of 18, Dr. Chokani said. “In that same time period in 2021, we are at 364. That is a real problem.

“This is only the tip of the iceberg. Where one in five people are tested, there are still four others going around untested and that is where the stress comes from.”

He added that Saskatchewan’s health-care system is under imminent threat.

“Our system may not make it through. What this means is taking small actions. We are not asking people to give up life, we are asking that what people do is incorporate these things,” Dr. Chokani added.

The five small things Saskatchewan residents can do:

· Masking.

· Physical distancing.

· Reducing contacts.

· Being fully vaccinated.

· Employer mandates for pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions to reduce spread.

“These are the ways we each can do it. Right from the young ones to the elderly,” Dr. Chokani added. “By doing these small things there.”