WINDSOR, ONT. -- There are renewed concerns from health care providers dealing with COVID-19 in Windsor-Essex.
As cases in the region continue to surge, Erie Shores HealthCare hosted an 'upfront' discussion on the impact of COVID-19 on the healthcare system.
"Some days in the past week we've now ran out of ambulances to cover the entire county. That is a very scary situation. We haven't had that in over two years," says Bruce Krauter, Chief of Essex-Windsor EMS.
Krauter tells CTV news in the past week EMS is dealing with 30 extra calls a day.
“If we go down, it's going to go to the next line and if they go down then we are not going to win this war,” says Krauter.
Local hospital officials are also raising the same concerns, saying an alarming rate of patients are coming into the hospitals.
"We're really struggling to look after patients and we could reach a breaking point of COVID-positive patients in the hospital,” says Dr. Wassim Saad, chief of staff at Windsor Regional Hospital.
With more patient admissions this week than ever before, regional healthcare leaders gathered for a virtual discussion Monday.
A major issue they are trying to overcome during this second wave is hospital staff stretched to the limit.
"This is serious. There is a burden on the healthcare system and we do need people to take the directive of Dr. Ahmed seriously. We do need people to stay home," says Kristin Kennedy, CEO of Erie Shores HealthCare.
“Those of us that are living and working this nightmare every day, we have to call it what it is, I don’t understand why someone who can make a choice to stay at home. Why would they leave,” says Janice Kaffer, CEO of Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare.
Despite the high case counts, health care leaders say we haven't seen the full implications of the holidays yet. With the worst, possibly yet to come, they are pleading with the community to do your part.
"We need to ask folks out there in the community to do more than what you are doing right now," says Kaffer.
"Please follow those public health guideline, if you don't need to go out don't go out. We just have to hold out a little longer, the turning of the tide with the vaccine is here. It's just a matter of time and once we get everybody vaccinated," says Saad.
