Montfort Hospital cancels surgeries due to capacity issues

Montfort Hospital's President says his facility is full, forcing the cancellation of surgeries.

Bernard Leduc says Tuesday it's something, before COVID-19, the hospital hasn't had to do for quite a few years.

“We apologize to impacted patients,” he said via Twitter.  

The president is worried this issue will only persist if COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise in Ottawa. He's asking residents to stay home when possible and listen to Ottawa Public Health's (OPH) calls for residents to limit their social contacts, wash their hands and continue to take physical distancing precautions.

In addition to dealing with a full hospital, Montfort employees have also been helping to run COVID-19 testing sites on the east side of Ottawa.

OPH says just 17 patients are in local hospitals with COVID-19 — two of whom are in intensive care.