Vitalité Health Network increases 'alert level' to reduce pressure on health-care system
The Vitalité Health Network in New Brunswick says it is raising its "alert level" and implementing measures "aimed at preserving the offer of care and reducing pressure on the health system."
Dr. France Desrosiers, the president and CEO of Vitalité Health Network, said in a news release that they must be prepared for the challenges they expect to face.
"We must be ready to face an increase of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the days and weeks to come," Desrosiers said.
Here is the list of new measures that Vitalité said will be applied across the Network:
- Reduction of the hospital occupancy rate to free up staff to care for COVID-19 patients.
- Temporary reduction of level of service if necessary; to be determined on a case-by-case basis.
- Restricting visitors and designated support persons. Only people who have been fully vaccinated for at least 14 days will be authorized to visit. Details and applicable exceptions are available in the COVID-19 section of the Network's website. The directives come into force on Thursday, Sept. 23 at 2 p.m.
- Mandatory pre-operative screening measures will be adjusted, especially for unvaccinated patients.
- Control at the entrance to facilities and the application of all preventive measures recommended by the Public Health office, such as wearing a mask, physical distancing and frequent handwashing, will be reinforced.
"The Network reminds everyone that these measures are temporary and thanks the public for its understanding," Vitalité said in the news release.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Southern Alberta store broken into by burly black bear
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.