CTV News Ottawa

Updated: Mon Nov. 02 2009 3:56:55 PM

ctvottawa.ca

A 26-year-old west Quebec woman has died from swine flu, marking the first H1N1 flu-related death in the Outaouais.

Health officials said the woman had a chronic health condition and had not yet been vaccinated for swine flu.

Although public health officials are still giving priority to high-risk groups, nobody at Ottawa's flu clinics is being turned away. So far, the city has immunized more people for swine flu than it did for seasonal flu during last year's entire flu season.

Although hundreds of residents started lining up at flu clinics across Ottawa early Monday morning, there were still some wristbands available by midday.

The Kanata Recreation Centre had about 250 wristbands still available at 10:40 a.m. The situation was similar at Tom Brown Arena, the Orleans Client Service Centre and the Vanier-Richelieu Community Centre.

However, by early afternoon clients were no longer being accepted at clinics in Kanata, Orleans, Sarsfield and the Fred Barrett Arena.

Meanwhile, extra bracelets from the Tom Brown Arena were given to people who waited hours in long lineups at the flu clinic on Constellation Crescent.

"I'm here for my wife who was in line two hours yesterday in Kanata. (She's) pregnant and works in a daycare and I figured she should be somewhere near the front of the line," said Lance Drechsler, who got in line at the Constellation flu clinic at 7:15 a.m.

Clinics in Ottawa opened at 2:30 p.m., with the exception of the flu clinic at Constellation Crescent, which opened at 5 p.m. Wristbands there were handed out starting at 1 p.m.

Meanwhile, Ottawa Public Health is adopting a new rule to prevent wristband fraud for those waiting in line to get the H1N1 vaccine.

Those waiting for vaccine wristbands will now have to put on all of the bracelets they're picking up for themselves and immediate family members. That means if you're picking up four wristbands, you'll have to wear all four bracelets and return to the clinic with family members who want to get immunized.

The decision was made after the city received reports that some people were hiring others to stand in line to pick up their wristbands.

Later this week, community health centres in the capital will become flu centres for anyone with flu-like symptoms needing non-urgent medical care.

Residents who don't have a family doctor -- or can't get an appointment to see one -- can get assessed by a doctor or nurse practitioner at the community health centres, beginning on Wednesday.

The move is designed to ease pressure on emergency rooms that are swamped with patients exhibiting flu-like symptoms.

Meanwhile, union leaders representing Ontario hospitals say they don't have enough capacity to deal with a large influx of patients sick with swine flu.

The president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions said Monday that hospitals in the province are already operating at or above 98 per cent capacity.

Michael Hurley said the council doesn't believe there are enough ventilators or beds in intensive care units to care for patients who come down with severe cases of swine flu.

With files from The Canadian Press