Flu Season Taking Its Toll On North

Grim news to report on the H1N1 flu front in northwestern Ontario.
The virus has hit the Thunder Bay District a lot harder than the Kenora and Rainy River Districts.
Diana Gowanlock of the Thunder Bay District Health Unit says the death toll in their area has increased to five.
Gowanlock says four of the deaths were adults under the age of 65 and one was a senior citizen.
She says the number of confirmed cases in the district is now up to 81.
At last report there were 16-confirmed cases in the Northwestern Health Unit catchment area.
The flu bug is sending people to hospitals in droves and the Thunder Bay Regional Hospital is now in a “code gridlock”.
It means there’s a critical bed shortage and spokesperson Dr. Mark Henderson says it’s been that way since the end of the holidays, with staff preparing for the long haul.
The situation is so bad that several patients are being treated in hallways.
Dr. Henderson believes the hospital may not see the end to the gridlock cycle for another 3 years.