Nunavut health officials urge caution amid surge of RSV, flu and COVID-19 cases

Nunavut health officials are urging people in the territory to take precautions amid a surge in cases of respiratory illness across the territory, and a health care system under strain.

"Generally speaking, from a staffing perspective our system across Nunavut is fragile right now, and things are also fragile in the South, and the word 'crisis' is being used quite often," said Health Minister John Main at a news conference on Thursday afternoon.

"So I think today we're trying to encourage people to take precautions, and to use the available tools to protect their own health, to protect their family's health — so as to lessen the burden on the system."

Nunavut has long grappled with some of the highest rates of hospitalizations for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the world, and this year has been worse than most.

As of Dec. 12, there were 493 diagnosed cases of RSV in Nunavut this year, with 86 hospitalizations. That compares to 142 cases in 2018/19, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

RSV case numbers dropped in the last couple of years amid public health restrictions. With most restrictions now lifted, respiratory illness is again spreading more widely.

The territory is also seeing a surge in COVID-19 and flu cases.

In 2019, there were 212 known flu cases in Nunavut. As with RSV, the numbers dropped over the following two years but shot up again this year, to 634 as of Dec. 12. 

The territory has also seen 3,155 known cases of COVID-19 this year, with 84 hospitalizations. 

"So COVID is still out there and yes, we have seen an increase in the number of infections as restrictions have been eased," said Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Sean Wachtel, speaking alongside the health minister on Thursday.

Respiratory infections have also spiked in many other parts of the country in recent weeks, including in Ottawa, a major transit hub for Nunavut.

Ottawa Public Health said on Wednesday that rates of RSV, COVID-19 and influenza were all at high or very high levels over the last week. The organization now has an online dashboard to track respiratory illness. 

Health centre closures coming

The current rise of respiratory illness in Nunavut comes as the territory's health department struggles with staffing. Earlier this month, the department warned that some local health centres could be closed for weeks at a time in the new year.

On Thursday, the health department provided a new list of projected health centre closures in the coming months:

• Chesterfield Inlet, Jan. 9 - Feb. 3, 2023.
• Clyde River, Jan. 20 - 22, 2023.
• Kinngait, Dec. 18 - 30, 2022; Jan. 25 - Feb. 28, 2023.

The territory's chief of staff, Francois de Wet, said on Thursday that there will be fewer closures than earlier anticipated because officials were able to recruit more staff.

He also said that there are plans in place to ensure that people can access necessary health care, with paramedics and nursing staff in communities as well as virtual care options. Anybody who needs to leave their community for care will still be able to do that, he said.

"So I do not think that the closures per se will have a significant effect on the patients that present to the health centres, at this point in time," de Wet said.

Officials are also confident that the territory's medevac system, for patients who may be sent to Ottawa, Winnipeg or Edmonton, is in good shape though it's also under pressure. 

"We have had a large uptick in the amount of medevacs that we've had over the last couple of months," de Wet said.

"All our southern partners now are accepting patients from Nunavut ... as long as we can get the patients transferred out, and get them to [the] appropriate centre of care, we should be fine."

Masks suggested

Still, officials say they are bracing for a further increase in respiratory infections through and after the holiday season, when more people are socializing in large gatherings.

"There's lots of people looking forward to Christmas gatherings of their families, of course, and it's great that we're in a better situation this Christmas than we were last year," said Main.

"But it is possible to still take some precaution even as you celebrate."

He suggested wearing masks, using rapid tests, and avoiding gatherings when you're ill.

"I think every person who uses tools and reduces risks over Christmas and New Year's is really doing us a service, and they're really helping out by taking precautions," said Main.

"So I'm hopeful that we will avoid what could have been a much larger surge."