After three years of pandemic, COVID-19 is finally no longer a major issue in hospitals, since only rare very sick patients are hospitalized for an infection.
• Read also: Three years of pandemic under the magnifying glass
“In the field, patients hospitalized for COVID-19, we no longer see them, says the Dr Germain Poirier, head of intensive care at Charles-LeMoyne Hospital in Longueuil. We are a referral center and we no longer refer cases to each other. Severe cases, we no longer see them. »
After having worried and mobilized employees of the health network for more than two years, COVID-19 is finally no longer at the heart of hospitalization issues.
radical fall
In January 2022, more than 1000 patients per week were hospitalized (on a floor or in intensive care) due to COVID-19.
Today, the situation is very different, when barely 200 patients in Quebec were hospitalized for this infection.
And these are patients who are often very ill (immunosuppressed, lung transplant recipients, etc.).
“These are mostly people who return for something else, we track them by chance”, notes the Dr Mathieu Simon, head of intensive care at the University Institute of Pneumology and Cardiology of Quebec.
“We don’t even get one a week in intensive care,” adds Dr.r François Marquis, head of intensive care at Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital. It’s far from the painting it was. »
“The worst is behind us,” he encourages himself.
Herd immunity and effective vaccination: these are the two main responsible for the marked drop in severe cases of COVID-19 in Quebec, according to the doctors interviewed by The newspaper.
Moreover, patients are no longer presumed positive for this infection as much as before.
Several viruses tested
“A year ago, it was said to be a COVID case until proven otherwise. Now we are testing for seven, eight or ten different viruses,” says Dr.r Marquis.
According to the Ministry of Health and Social Services, systematic screening of patients continues for COVID-19, and no timetable is envisaged for withdrawing it. As soon as a patient is positive, he is placed in isolation.
Despite all this progress, doctors agree that COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon.
“Is it going to weaken over time, and we’re going to treat it like the flu?” Highly possible. It may be a virus that we will have to get used to, ”thinks the Dr Germain.
Another global alert
- The World Health Organization reiterated on January 30 that the COVID-19 pandemic is still on high alert.
- Although vaccination and herd immunity will limit the impact of the virus, it is almost certain that COVID-19 will remain dangerous for humans in the long term.
- The WHO is also concerned about pandemic fatigue, which leads to a reduction in health protection measures (mask and
social distance). - Some countries, like China, are still struggling with major outbreaks.
Source : OMS
The mask is here to stay in establishments
Wearing a mask should remain mandatory for everyone in hospitals, even after the pandemic is over, believe doctors who see the benefits.
“It’s going to be a legacy [de la COVID-19]it’s made standard, thinks the Dr Germain Poirier, head of intensive care at Charles-LeMoyne Hospital in Longueuil. For us, it’s a work tool like wearing gloves. 25 years ago, we wore a lot less. »
After three years of the pandemic, few health measures are still in effect in Quebec. However, in hospitals and medical clinics, all employees, patients and visitors must still wear a mask at all times.
A new standard
Before 2020, only employees who worked in operating theaters and with critically ill patients wore it.
According to doctors, this standard should stay for good since it protects patients from all kinds of viruses, not just COVID-19.
“The masks will have to stay, thinks the Dr Karl Weiss, microbiologist-infectiologist at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. In the hospital, there are sick people at risk. »
“It’s a good practice, and it’s not very restrictive. […] It has a very clear effectiveness in reducing contamination, ”adds Roxane Borgès Da Silva, professor of management at the School of Public Health at the University of Montreal.
Asked about this by The newspaper, Health Minister Christian Dubé was very comfortable with this mandatory measure. By email, the Ministry of Health and Social Services responds that hospitals are still under pressure due to respiratory viruses, and that “there are no plans to make any changes in this direction at the moment”, we read. .
However, Public Health refused to answer our questions on the medium and long term plan.
Hurry to take it off
Despite the benefits, employees are eager to be able to remove the mask.
“People are disgusted […]many hope to remove it, notes the Dr François Marquis, intensivist at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital. It will be necessary to have the debate to know if we keep it. »