Coming into work Jed Perez can’t help but feel worried.

“Walking through the corridor, everyone is now wearing masks,” the emergency room registered nurse said. “It’s been a somber atmosphere coming into work.”

Perez works at a downtown Toronto hospital and where he has seen the cases of Covid-19 come in waves. Now, he says, the numbers are swelling.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing more and more acutely ill patients coming in with respiratory symptoms that need breathing machines and ICU admissions.”

Anyone coming to the hospital, whether they are walk-ins or people who come in with paramedics, are screened for symptoms. The ones who report Covid-19 symptoms, like a fever, cough or runny nose are pulled aside for additional assessment.

“If they are critically ill, we immediately put them in a negative pressure room where we delegate tasks and treat them for their symptoms,” Perez said.

Perez and his fellow frontline nurses and doctors are relying on each other to keep up morale during very long days, still their concerns are real.

“I would be lying If I said I wasn’t worried or scared. I think about my colleagues who have family at home with little kids. And I think about my parents who are considered to be at high risk because of their age.”

Perez is trying to stay optimistic and hopeful the crisis will subside earlier than projected. But before that happens, he and other health care workers are getting ready for a surge of patients with COVID-19.

“We don’t know when it’s going to happen. We don’t know how bad it’s going to affect us or which hospitals are going to be affected the most” Perez said. “But I can tell you we are prepared for the challenge.”