Hospitals are adding Covid buildings
Many hospitals around Montreal are adding temporary modular buildings to function as Covid isolation wards – which means the medical establishment here is bracing for a surge in cases after the rentrée.
Dr Theresa Tam is warning us that Covid may be around for a long time. And a study shows that, even if a vaccine is created, a lot of Canadians will delay getting it, or refuse to get it at all.
Mr.Chinaski 09:33 on 2020-08-05 Permalink
Not only that, but the vaccine to be effective will require herd protection, so +/- 75% of the population.
Jebediah Pallindrome 13:05 on 2020-08-05 Permalink
Literally every community in Canada has a hockey rink. Dr. Joanne Liu was saying how all COVID+ patients should be kept out of the hospitals to keep hospitals from shutting down and/or becoming vectors of the virus, but that the govt doesn’t want this because it looks bad. The arenas aren’t being used anyways… they’d be perfect isolation spots. Instead govt orders new construction. This is all about greasing palms. The political class couldn’t have been more inept had they tried.
Kate 13:26 on 2020-08-05 Permalink
Problem there is that people might want to use the rinks for hockey.
Kevin 13:27 on 2020-08-05 Permalink
The temporary hospital buildings were announced in May or June, because while you can do some stuff under a tent, treating people outdoors in the winter isn’t really feasible. Like everything else with this disease, people need space — and those old hospitals that kept 4 people to a room aren’t going to cut it.
Hospitals need hot zones and cold zones and to do that safely in winter means space, and lots of it.
As for arenas — they are being used. Hockey camps take place all summer (and there have been outbreaks) and skating for all starts Sept. 1 (at least in my neighbourhood).
They’d also be terrible isolation spots. There is no medical gear on hand. Accessing washrooms would be difficult at best. They’re gloomy and not designed to be heated.
Commandeer some buffet halls instead of arenas if you really need people inside 🙂
JaneyB 13:34 on 2020-08-05 Permalink
re: Tam’s conference – I think the odds of Canadians wearing masks and avoiding people for 3 years is slim to none. Since now countries like the Czech Republic and Slovakia have lowered their numbers so much that they are basically maskless and back open after 8 weeks even without a vaccine, it will become harder to justify the various strategies we are using. It really looks like we really botched it by not recommending face covering at the same time as we shut down. Hindsight, of course.
Kate 14:24 on 2020-08-05 Permalink
I hope you’re right, JaneyB, but I’ll wait to see how things look a few weeks after schools reopen.
dwgs 15:25 on 2020-08-05 Permalink
Several hockey arenas were used for temporary hospitals (Jacques Lemaire in Lasalle comes to mind) as well as other uses. Doug Harvey in NDG was used as a temporary home for the local food bank. As others have said, they’e not really well suited to the purpose on a long term basis. They lack the necessary electrical and plumbing infrastructure for example. Most of the arenas are starting to install ice at the moment and the ones that do have ice are already seeing heavy usage.
Michael Black 15:42 on 2020-08-05 Permalink
A hospital is way more than beds. There is massive infrastructure behind it. A hockey arena might be fine for minor things (something like an ice storm where people need a place to stay), but you need that infrastructure for anything much serious. I had xrays a few times, a camera down my throat a bunch of times, I guess it was an electrocardiogram twice, dialysis for ten weeks, endless laundry, awful hospital food three times a day. Adjacent to the hospital means these resources are close.
Remember, this is for the very serious cases. They were telling people with mild symptoms to stay home.
I’ll note that the article quotes Dr. Fauci as being more optimistic about a vaccine. This guy is no mere administrator. His name is on a paper about my rare disease, I gather he did something significant about how to deal with it. So he seems to know what he’s doing.
Kate 21:33 on 2020-08-05 Permalink
Michael Black, I see so many contradictory things about the possibility of a vaccine that I do not know what to think. Some reports say immunity to SARS‑CoV‑2 doesn’t last long enough for a vaccine to work. Even if we do get a rock‑solid vaccine, enough people will refuse the shot that we may not be able to immunize enough of the population.
Used to be you couldn’t enroll your kid in school without a smallpox vaccination certificate. If the Covid vaccination comes and it works, maybe a rule like that could be revived.
I find it interesting that the federal government is already signing contracts with pharmaceutical companes to buy a vaccine that doesn’t yet exist.
jeather 11:57 on 2020-08-06 Permalink
I’m hoping that this will bring back all the regular vaccine requirements to go to a public school (barring a medical exemption).