Those who know me as a family doctor know me as pretty easy going. I am worried. Those who know me as a person, know I’m a new dad and that I usually avoid as much public attention as possible. I am reaching out and social media is the fastest way to be heard.
This message is unanimous amongst Physicians and Nurse Practitioners in Fort Frances, Ont.
This virus is real, it’s coming and we truly don’t know everything about it. What you’re reading today about Seattle and Italy will be us in one to two weeks. What we do today will save lives over the next weeks/months.
Most of us have seen flatten the curve illustrations. Let’s apply locally. Our district has 20,000 people. Using conservative estimates, we believe 30 percent of us will be infected. That’s 6,000 people. Worldwide, conservative estimates are that five percent will need critical care/ventilation. That’s 300 people. All hospital beds in our usual referral centres will be full, so we will care for most patients locally. We have five ventilators. Five ventilators to care for an estimated 300 patients. We are doing everything we can to prepare, please do the same.
The most important thing you can do today is to stay at home and socially isolate. Seriously. No gym, no restaurants, no get togethers with friends!
We realize this is more extreme than current Public Health recommendations but we’re trying to stay ahead vs react when it’s too late. Northwestern Ontario is unique in that we are isolated, so measures we take will truly help. Stay home and save lives.
Good luck Sunset Country.
