Hacking is already involved in the collapse of the health system in Newfoundland

The health minister finally confirmed Wednesday that the Newfoundland and Labrador health care system is indeed the victim of a very serious computer hack that has shut down service in the province since Saturday.

The information, which was provided by local media thanks to anonymous sources in recent days, was confirmed at a press conference by Minister John Hagee, who was stingy in details.

The people involved in the attack may be following what we say in the media and in the legislature. “It is very important that we do not do or say anything that could harm efforts to solve this problem,” he said.

The minister also said the computer system hardest hit was Western Health, which runs health care in the western part of the county. “As a precaution, the system should be disconnected from Western Health this morning,” Hagee said, adding that this would also disconnect Meditech, the patient’s health information system.

As a result, Western Health will have to implement a reduction in services at hospitals and health centers on Thursday and Friday. Only urgent appointments will go ahead,” the minister continued, adding that services requiring access to patient information would have to be cancelled.

The government had previously made clear on Monday that the computer “brain” of the Newfoundland health system was affected by the cyber attack. In particular, this has resulted in thousands of appointments being canceled, as well as disrupting online services, including the submission of COVID-19 test results.