less than two weeks after the first toronto-area covid-19 patients arrived in ottawa by helicopter, dozens will soon be treated in local intensive care units.
there are currently 24 patients in ottawa intensive care units from hospitals in the gta and more are coming. orders for an additional 14 transfers of critically ill covid-19 patients are now in place, which will bring the total to 38 in a matter of days.
the transfer of critically ill covid-19 patients from the gta to ottawa, a first since the pandemic began, is a sign of how hard hospitals are being hit in the third wave.
there are currently a record 806 covid-19 patients in critical care beds across ontario, many of them being cared for far from their homes.
meanwhile, some critically ill patients in the province are not making it to hospital, ontario’s chief coroner dr. dirk huyer said thursday. for the first time in the pandemic, there have been cases of covid-19 patients dying in their homes, he said during a covid-19 update.
the cases are new and still being investigated, he said, but they appear to be people who hadn’t called an ambulance or tried to go to hospital because they didn’t think they were sick enough.
“these were people who did have a stable condition and then deteriorated very quickly.”