The Jewish General Hospital (JGH), one of four hospitals originally designated by Quebec to treat COVID-19 patients, is one patient shy of reaching its ICU unit’s capacity.

The hospital is currently treating 40 coronavirus patients, 19 are in the intensive care unit, which has a capacity for 20 patients, Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, CEO of the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal, which oversees the JGH, confirmed to Global News. “We have 40 patients and 19 are in the ICU,” he said, adding the unit’s capacity is for 20 patients.

The medical centre plans to increase up to as many as sixty beds dispersed throughout the hospitals critical care areas, including if necessary some operating rooms.

Dr. Rosenberg, earlier in the week revealed to the Montreal Gazette, the institutions ability to expand the number of intensive care beds. “But when we do (reach capacity), we have a plan to scale. (The ICU) was built to scale to 36 patients, and if we need to, we can call on other intensive-care beds that are in Pavilion K to go up to 53. If we need to go beyond that, we have a plan to scale beyond 53,” he said.

Nearly half of the Quebec’s 2,021 confirmed cases are in Montreal.

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