Ontario taking 6 critically ill COVID-19 patients from Saskatchewan hospitals

Sask. expands second booster eligibility to 18+ WATCH: Saskatchewan is expanding COVID-19 vaccine fourth dose eligibility to all residents aged 18 and over. Luke Simard reports.

TORONTO — Ontario hospitals will accept six critically ill COVID-19 patients from Saskatchewan over the next 72 hours, as its health-care system struggles to cope with an influx of patients due to the ongoing fourth wave.

A memo from the Ontario Critical Care COVID-19 Command Centre obtained by CP24 says that one patient from Saskatchewan is expected to arrive at The Ottawa Hospital today.

On Tuesday or Wednesday, three more patients will arrive at North Bay Regional Health Centre, Markham-Stouffville Hospital and Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

Two additional patients are slated to head to Kingston Health Sciences Centre and Humber River Regional Hospital sometime on Wednesday.

In June and July, Ontario hosted as many as three dozen COVID-19 inpatients from Manitoba when its health system struggled to care for everyone seeking medical intervention due to severe COVID-19 infection.

One patient from Manitoba died en route to an Ontario hospital during that effort.

As of Sunday, Saskatchewan had 333 people in hospital due to COVID-19, with 84 in intensive care.

Saskatchewan officials say more than 75 per cent of COVID-19 patients in its hospitals are not fully vaccinated.

Ontario has fewer COVID-19 patients than Saskatchewan in absolute terms, even though it is 12 times larger in population.

ICU occupancy due to COVID-19 in Ontario has been on the decline for approximately two months.

--With files from CP24's Nick Dixon.