Hotels in Quebec say they are ready to receive COVID-19 patients

MONTREAL -- As Quebec hospitals struggle with the number of COVID-19 patients, hotels are "ready to help," say several industry representatives.

"During the holiday season, the Ministry of Health asked for lists of hotels that would be willing to accommodate patients," said Greater Montreal Hotel Association president and CEO Jean-Sébastien Boudreault.

The call was made between Christmas and New Year's Day.

Across the province, more than 130 owners of tourist accommodations responded, said Quebec Hotel Association president and CEO Véronyque Tremblay.

"They would be very proud, very happy to contribute and help in this fifth wave, which is not easy for anyone," she said. "They are just waiting for a call from the Ministry of Health, the CIUSSS or the CISSS."

As of Monday, 2,742 beds were occupied by COVID-19 patients in the province. Yet the network's capacity is only 2,549 beds, even with a level 4 offload.

LACK OF SPACE AND STAFF

Quebec Association of Emergency Specialists vice-president Dr. Laurie Robichaud has a front-row seat to the influx of patients at the Jewish General Hospital, where she works.

On one of her last shifts last week, "there were no physical beds left in the ER. At some point, the physical space is gone," she said.

She added that while the use of hotels is "not ideal, it's still more ideal than clogging up the corridors with COVID patients, risking infecting more people."

The Ministry of Health said in an e-mail that "the use of hotels has already begun,"and that "the type of care offered could be of different intensity depending on the vocation of the site and the needs of the region."

For example, in the Quebec City region, the Hotel Le Concorde is being transformed back into a convalescent centre for patients with the virus. These patients will be cared for on-site by medical personnel.

With a shortage of manpower, however, and thousands of health-care workers on the sidelines because of COVID-19, it's not just the space that's lacking, but the staff itself.

• READ MORE: Major staffing shortages hit Quebec firefighters, police and paramedics

Robichaud said that some infected patients do not need all the resources of a hospital.

Some, like self-sufficient, triple-vaccinated seniors, just become a little too weak to be left alone.

In those cases, "going to a hotel, where there might be an attendant for the entire floor, who can bring a glass of water, help move to the bathroom, can make a big difference," she said, suggesting placing a doctor on call if needed.

The hotels would also allow for the isolation of asymptomatic people, notably to avoid contaminating private residences for seniors, said Tremblay.

"We don't want to repeat what unfortunately happened in the first wave," she said.

The City of Montreal has already established such a system for homeless people. A hotel in the city has been chosen to house up to 111 patients who do not need medical care but have nowhere to stay.

TWO BIRDS, ONE STONE

Asked about the safety of such arrangements, Boudreault said that "all hotel staff are already trained" to prevent the spread, as it is not uncommon for a traveller to test positive and have to quarantine in his or her room.

There are protocols: food will have to be brought to the room door and there are no cleaning services.

If hotels can help fight the pandemic, "it would be killing two birds with one stone," he said.

The tourism industry is among the hardest hit by the crisis, he said, and it "is suffering greatly,"

"If we are able to rent rooms through the ministry, it would greatly help hoteliers," he said.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Jan. 11, 2022.