JAMES BAY - Communities along the James Bay coast are grappling with an alarming rise in respiratory illnesses, prompting safety measures similar to the height of the COVID pandemic.
Elizabeth McCarthy, director of strategy and communications for the Weeneebayko Area Health Authority (WAHA), confirmed the increase in cases of RSV, COVID-19, and the flu in the remote region.
“We are seeing an increase in people coming into all of our emergency rooms in Fort Albany, Moosonee, and Moose Factory with respiratory infections,” she said.
While these illnesses are typical for this time of year, McCarthy said they still cause significant strain on local health services.
WAHA is urging community members to take preventative measures, including frequent hand washing, staying home when feeling unwell, wearing masks in public spaces if symptomatic, and keeping wounds clean and covered.
On Sunday (Jan. 5), Fort Albany First Nation put in precautionary mandatory measures in response to the overwhelming strain on its local clinic.
The measures include closing schools, banning social and public gatherings, masking in public spaces, and other preventative measures similar to what WAHA is encouraging.
Earlier, on Jan. 3, the First Nation noted that Weeneebayko General Hospital in Moose Factory, the Moosonee Health Centre, and nursing stations in Fort Albany, Attawapiskat, and Kashechewan were experiencing an increase in clinical visits due to the surge in respiratory illnesses.
McCarthy also emphasized the importance of vaccination.
“The good news is there are vaccines for RSV, COVID, and flu, which can go a long way in protecting your health as an individual and the larger community,” she said.
The impact of respiratory illnesses is particularly severe in rural and remote communities, where social and economic challenges exacerbate the situation, McCarthy said. She pointed out that crowded living conditions make it easier for illnesses to spread.
“In our region, more people are living in single-family dwellings than what you may see typically in the rest of the province. A whole family unit can come down with the same illness pretty quickly,” she said.
The surge in illnesses has also increased wait times in local emergency departments and clinics, which are often the first and only points of care in the absence of family physicians, McCarthy said.
”In the south, there is a challenge with finding family physicians right now, but in our region, we don't have a rostered model,” she said.
“So, people come through our emergency department or our walk-in clinics during the day, and it certainly makes them much busier.”
