WINDSOR, ONT. -- Windsor Regional Hospital will be postponing all non-urgent surgeries as in-hospital admissions of COVID-19 patients continue to rise at “an alarming rate.”

Windsor Regional Hospital announced Tuesday it has made the “difficult but necessary decision” to delay all non-urgent, pre-scheduled, elective surgeries for an indefinite period starting Jan. 4.

“The current situation with COVID-19 in our hospital and in our community is creating significant implications for our hospital and our ICU bed occupancy, as well as human resource limitations given the need to support services outside the Operating Rooms and/or hospital,” WRH Chief of Staff Dr. Wassim Saad said in a news release.

According to the Windsor Regional Hospital website as of Monday there were 60 in-patients in hospital with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and another 160 with tests pending.

Saad also noted the added pressure on staff resources for the two COVID-19 Assessment Centres and the vaccination centre at the St. Clair College Sportsplex.

This delay also includes day surgeries— those where a patient can go home the same day as the procedure — which had continued following a reduction in services announced Dec. 11, WRH said.

The hospital will continue to perform surgeries for emergencies and urgent surgeries. Cancer surgeries will also continue to be prioritized.

Officials say the decision would amount to about 50 per cent reduction in surgical volumes.

As of Sunday, the hospital has been running the COVID-19 vaccination centre seven days a week with a focus on the priority groups identified by the province.

The hospital is asking surgeons to review their elective cases that they had booked from Jan. 4 and to contact patients to let them know of the postponement.

“We will continue to reassess our capacity for surgeries based on volumes on a regular basis,” said Dr. Saad. “We are doing our best to keep bed capacity available as our patient volumes increase during the second wave of this COVID-19 pandemic, while also conserving our hospital resources for the most urgent needs.”

The hospital also announced it is planning to expand the hours at the COVID-19 Assessment Centre at the Met campus to match the days and hours of operation at the Ouellette campus centre.

WRH will announce the date the additional hours will be added as soon as it is confirmed.