West News Wire: As many residents of the Atlantic region affected by post-tropical storm Fiona are using generators for electricity, a Canadian hospital reported on Tuesday that it is treating three patients for potential carbon monoxide poisoning.
By late Tuesday afternoon, there were still more than 180,000 households and businesses without electricity, with more than 122,000 of them in Nova Scotia and roughly 61,000 in Prince Edward Island.
On Prince Edward Island, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown activated protocols to handle extra emergency patients. The hospital advised individuals to use its emergency room only for life-threatening or urgent medical issues.
The hospital said that five to ten individuals were receiving treatment for potential carbon monoxide poisoning, although it did not specify which community they were from.
Authorities said Sunday that preliminary findings suggested one death over the weekend was connected to generator use, but did not provide details.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau travelled Tuesday to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, where he pledged to find ways to build more resilient infrastructure after inspecting the extensive damage caused by Fiona.
“Unfortunately, the reality with climate change is that there’s going to be more extreme weather events. We’re going to have to think about how to make sure we’re ready for whatever comes at us,” Trudeau said.
In Ottawa, Defense Minister Anita Anand said there are about 300 troops assisting recovery efforts, divided equally among Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. Anand said the military is mobilizing an additional 150 troops in Nova Scotia and 150 for Newfoundland.
The HMCS Margaret Brooke, one of the Canadian navy’s new Arctic patrol vessels, was scheduled to visit the remote community of Francois on the south coast of Newfoundland to check on residents.
