It's all hands on deck as N.L. Public Health attempts to stop Omicron spread

As COVID-19 cases skyrocket in Newfoundland and Labrador, Public Health capacity is being stretched to the max.

The province reported another 100 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday – tied for the all-time record high – just hours after it moved into Alert Level 3, which meant the closure of bars and theatres and restrictions on visitation in hospitals and long-term care homes.

In an interview with CBC News on Thursday, Yvette Coffey, president of the Registered Nurses Union of Newfoundland and Labrador, implored residents of the province to follow Public Health guidelines and be kind to staff at vaccination and testing clinics.

"We are already over capacity. We're already understaffed and we're utilizing volunteers to help out," she said.

There are reports of lengthy wait-times for COVID-19 testing, and in a media release on Thursday, the Department of Health said there may be a delay in getting positive results due to an "extremely high volume" of tests. 

Meanwhile, there were long lines for booster shots this week, as Public Health scrambles to reinstate mass vaccination clinics.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Western Health said the regional health authority is rescheduling some non-urgent work, redeploying staff working in areas with reduced services over the holidays, and asking staff if they're willing to come in on their days off. 

The regional health authority is also looking at the qualifications of staff who are not normally involved in testing or vaccination, said the spokesperson.

"We have requested staff from all areas in the organization, including managers, to support testing and vaccine clinics."

The spokesperson said testing is available within 24 hours of filling out the online self-assessment form in Western Health, but noted that the health authority created a walk-in testing clinic in the Corner Brook area to help meet demand.

In a statement on Friday, Eastern Health announced it was cancelling all non-urgent outpatient laboratory tests — like blood work — on Dec. 29, 30 and 31 as staff are reassigned to help administer COVID-19 booster shots. Urgent and emergency testing will continue.

Coffey said "the push is on" to recruit as many qualified individuals as possible to help with the response to COVID-19.

She said the regional health authorities are redeploying staff from other units and hiring new licensed practical nursing graduates to help with vaccinations and testing. According to Coffey, the regional health authorities are even asking for help from qualified volunteers – and they've gotten an "overwhelming response." 

"We need everybody on deck to help with the immunizations and to help with the swabbing clinics so that we don't overwhelm our current health-care system," Coffey said.