Quebecers urged to avoid ERs amid flu and respiratory virus ‘maelstrom’

By Canadian Press on December 23, 2025.

MONTREAL — Quebecers are being urged to avoid unnecessary emergency-room visits amid what one infectious-disease doctor is calling a respiratory virus maelstrom.

Dr. Donald Vinh says his Montreal hospital — McGill University Health Centre — is bursting at the seams as the province grapples with a combination of flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

Emergency-room occupancy data listed 15 Montreal hospitals above 100-per-cent occupancy as of this afternoon, with two of them over 200 per cent.

The province is asking Quebecers who are sick to contact the 811 health hotline to seek advice before heading to the ER.

Vinh says people can protect themselves by getting vaccinated against flu and COVID, as well as taking precautions such as frequent handwashing and wearing a mask when ill.

He says most sick people are better off staying home, but they need to quickly see a doctor if they develop severe symptoms such as trouble breathing, a high fever that lasts several days, confusion or dehydration.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 23, 2025.

The Canadian Press