The federal government will deploy two mobile hospital units to the Greater Toronto Area in order to help free up space in a health-care system that is struggling to handle an influx of COVID-19 patients.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made the announcement during a news conference in Ottawa on Friday morning.
He said that the mobile hospital units will provide up to 200 additional beds, effectively freeing up space in some of the region’s hardest hit hospitals “for those who need ICU care.”
He also said that each of the units will be able to provide “vital medical equipment and supplies.”
“The increase in cases this month has put a real strain on hospitals and for Ontario in particular the situation is extremely serious,” Trudeau said. “When we spoke last week I told Premier Ford that we would be there to support Ontario with any assistance they need. Keeping you and your families safe is our top priority.”
A Critical Care Services Ontario report obtained by a national media revealed that there were more than 400 COVID-19 patients in critical care in Ontario hospitals as of Monday.
But at some hospitals in the GTA the numbers were even more stark.
