3 p.m.
BC Emergency Health Services says paramedics in Fort St. James have received 33 calls in six days with COVID-19 related concerns.
That's one of the reasons why its Major Incident Rapid Response Team was called to the northern B.C. community, as well as the Nak'azdli Whut'en First Nation, on Wednesday (Dec. 9) after a 40-case surge in cases for the virus.
Howeverm Northern Health says not all of the individuals who tested positive will require medical care or transport.
In an email to PrinceGeorgeMatters, spokesperson Shannon Miller says, depending on the situation this week, the unit is set to stay in the district for a maximum of four days to help with inter-facility transfers from hospital to hospital.
This means some patients have needed to be taken from the Stuart Lake General Hospital to Prince George and other regional health authority facilities, which is not an uncommon move Northern Health has said in the past as it also depending on an individual's needs.
The BCEHS' specialized team is also providing clinical site support as apparent math is suggesting that roughly one in 26 people have COVID-19.
"The community has been overwhelmingly supportive of the paramedics arrival and our local paramedic crews are grateful for the support," Miller explains, noting that the paramedics are also feeling grateful in providing much-needed help to local residents.
"What surprised the team were a couple of encounters on the street. Bystanders recognizing they were paramedics and asking, 'Are you the team? Thank you for being here.'”
The BCEHS says during November, its paramedics in Fort St. James responded to the highest call volume for the entire year with 95 9-1-1 medical emergency calls in the community, well above the monthly average of 50 to 60 calls.
Between Nov. 12 and 25, residents may have come into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 at either the Key Resource Centre or the Cold Weather Shelter, both of which are under an outbreak declaration by Northern Health.
"The rapid response team travelled to the community with equipment, medications and an ambulance and SUV support vehicle," Miller adds.
"A highly trained paramedic team is an ideal resource for this small community, which is currently seeing a larger number of patients testing positive for COVID-19 and where there is only a small acute care facility."
Northern Health has also detected the virus at three schools within the community since students returned to the classroom in September:
- Fort St. James Secondary (SD91) - Dec. 1, 2020; Nov. 19-20, 20-26, 30, 2020
- David Hoy Elementary (SD91) - Dec. 1, 2020; Nov. 25-26, 30 2020; Sept. 17-18, 2020
- Nak’albun Elementary (Independent) - Nov. 22-25, 2020; Sept. 16-18, 2020
The BCEHS Major Incident Rapid Response Team consists of two Critical Care Paramedics, one Advanced Care Paramedic and a Primary Care Paramedic.
Critical Care Paramedics are the highest level of paramedic care with a focus on air medical response.
12:35 p.m.
A northern B.C. community and local First Nation is seeing provincial paramedics being sent up as an apparent major uptick in COVID-19 is recently wreaking havoc.
As of 2 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon (Dec. 9), BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) has deployed its Major Incident Rapid Response Team to Fort St. James and Nak’azdli Whut’en.
The Vancouver-based unit is set to help local paramedics and patients, originally created for pandemic response efforts when the virus first hit the province in January.
BCEHS Major Incident Rapid Response Team was deployed to Fort St. James today to help support local #paramedics and #patients in the community. This specialized team was developed as part of our #COVID19BC pandemic response efforts. #PatientCare pic.twitter.com/41aaV85Flk
— Emerg Health Services (@BC_EHS) December 9, 2020
The apparent rise in cases has forced Nak’azdli Whut’en to put its community on lockdown for two weeks as of Friday (Dec. 4), but there’s a possibility of an extended lockdown if residents choose not to cooperate.
“Our workers are getting very tired,” reads a Nation statement on its Facebook page as it welcomes the news of more paramedics arriving to help.
“They are our community members too and we need to make sure they are ok. All they are asking is that you do your part.”
A 15-minute time-limit is also being suggested if residents need to go outside their own home for essential needs.
Nak’azdli Whut’en Chief Aileen Prince made a plea in a virtual update that the public should stay at home as much as they can and that ‘every bit of help’ is appreciated.
Gates are being set up as part of the lockdown and the community will remain open for essential goods and services.
B.C.'s current public health order mandate that everyone wears a mask in indoor public and retail spaces, no gatherings of any size except with those part of your immediate household, and discourages non-essential travel.
Dr. Bonnie Henry told CBC News this morning (Dec. 10) that some of the Fort St. James infection have been taken to hospital in Prince George, while some on specific, not-uncommon circumstances may be transfered to ones on Vancouver Island on in the lower mainland.
She said in a Dec. 3 interview with PrinceGeorgeMatters that it's been a challenge to contain the virus in rural B.C. communities.
"It's concerning because we now have quite a few people who are in hospital in the north and we all know that the capacity in the north for critical care and hospital care is limited and we want to make sure we have the resources for everybody who needs health care in the north."
In a conference this afternoon, Interim BC Liberal Leader and Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond said she's very concerned and that health critic Renee Merrifield has called for a specific briefing on the situation.
“This is not about being critical of Dr. Bonnie Henry, but there's a growing sense of concern about the data, the sharing of information and how that's done. We need to be careful and balanced in that approach, but as you can imagine the community of Fort St. James, Prince George and the surrounding areas are concerned. They don’t know what’s happening.”
To date, Northern Health has recorded 1,159 positive tests for the virus, which includes 378 active cases, nine deaths, most recently a man in his 70s; 14 people in critical care among 40 hospitalizations and 772 recoveries.
