The province’s health minister offered an update on measures to address the backlog of medical procedures created by the pandemic.

John Haggie says the system is ramping back up, but the NLMA has indicated that more needs to be done to prevent the system from continuing to fall behind.

Haggie says as of last week, surgeries had returned to a 76 percent return to pre-COVID levels, while lab services were up to 84 percent of normal and diagnostic imaging at 78 per cent. Endoscopies are up to 73 per cent while cardiac surgeries are at 80 per cent.

Haggie says the hours for CT scans have been extended into the weekend by Eastern Health to deal with the backlog and wait times.

Overtime should not be an issue if it’s incurred as a result, says Haggie.

The NLMA says procedures need to be beyond 100 per cent to make up the backlog and prevent further delays.