Canada sees suspected carbon monoxide cases following Hurricane Fiona

A Canadian hospital said on Tuesday it was treating several patients for suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, as many people in the Atlantic region affected by post-tropical storm Fiona use generators for electricity.

More than 180,000 homes and businesses were still without power late Tuesday afternoon, including more than 122,000 in the province of Nova Scotia and about 61,000 in the province of Prince Edward Island. .

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, has declared a code orange to activate protocols to care for more emergency patients. The hospital asked people to come to its emergency department only for urgent or critical health issues.

The hospital said between five and 10 patients were being treated for possible carbon monoxide poisoning, but did not say which community they were from.

Authorities said Sunday that preliminary results suggested a death over the weekend was linked to generator use, but did not provide details.

Approximately 300 Canadian soldiers assist in recovery efforts

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau traveled to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island on Tuesday, where he pledged to find ways to build more resilient infrastructure after inspecting extensive damage from Fiona.

“Unfortunately, the reality with climate change is that there will be more extreme weather events. We’re going to have to think about how to make sure we’re ready for whatever comes our way,” Trudeau said.

In Ottawa, Defense Minister Anita Anand said about 300 soldiers are taking part in the recovery efforts, split evenly between Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.

Anand said the army was mobilizing an additional 150 soldiers in Nova Scotia and 150 in Newfoundland.

HMCS Margaret Brooke, one of the Canadian Navy’s new Arctic patrol ships, was due to visit the remote community of Francois on the south coast of Newfoundland to check on residents.

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