As the excitement builds for the FIFA World Cup, host cities are also ramping up last-minute preparations.
Toronto, Vancouver and other host cities around North America could see an influx of 300,000 visitors for the games, and health authorities are gearing up with safety plans for the games.
Healthcare services in Toronto are already stretched, some say to the maximum. But FIFA officials in recent weeks asked for additional paramedics — between 40 and 50 — as well as more first responders to be present at the games held in Toronto.
The medical response plans include looking at several types of scenarios.
"We’re really focused on planning for a worst-case scenario if there was an event," said Dr. Andrew Beckett, Trauma Medical Director at Toronto's St. Michael's Hospital. "We plan for how we’re going to distribute the casualty load, how we’re going to triage patients, and seeing what gaps we have in the system ... to make sure there is load sharing across the system."
Extra paramedics from the Greater Toronto Area will also be joining their Toronto counterparts. Matthew Runnalls, head of the Toronto Medical Planning Team for the World Cup, said there will be field medical stations set up.
"There are three first aid stations throughout the stadium as well," he said. "There are rolling teams throughout, so if anything happens, there will be a response within 30–60 seconds, really."
Preparations will also deal with the possibility of transmissions of high-risk illnesses. Even most fans are expressing concerns about the spread of viruses, with COVID-19 still fresh in their minds.
Topping the list of infectious diseases, according to the public health agency of Canada, is measles.
"Most of the communities particularly that surround Toronto, we see lower vaccine rates, and so as a result we’ve got very high risk," said infectious disease specialist Dr. Dale Kalina Samji.
Even though health authorities will be monitoring the situation closely, many experts, such as Toronto emergency room physician Dr. Catherine Varner, question whether Toronto’s already overburdened healthcare system can handle a large outbreak.
"We are constantly running our healthcare system at 100% capacity, and I would be concerned going forward about having a surge in the need for hospital resources," she said.
Runnalls said the city has been planning for this event for months.
"What we do at the start of this is a very, very detailed and comprehensive risk assessment," he said. "So the risk assessments are done for each of the venues and also just for the city and the event as a whole. Then we get a sense of the nitty gritty down to ... a chemical release, down to a large fire, infectious disease. What if it’s a heat wave? Each of these risks has been carefully analyzed."
Thirteen matches are scheduled for Toronto and Vancouver in June and July.
