EDMONTON – Prime Minister Jason Kenney has announced that around 35 healthcare employees will be brought in from outside the province to help deal with Alberta’s growing COVID-19 crisis.
Kenney said Thursday that Alberta is working to bring in personnel from Newfoundland and Labrador, the Canadian Armed Forces and the Canadian Red Cross. Those workers are likely heading to Fort McMurray, Edmonton and Red Deer to help out in the province’s overwhelmed ICUs, Kenney said.
The prime minister also announced that the 25,000 public service employees in Alberta will be required to show proof of vaccination or proof of a negative COVID-19 test.
There are currently more than 20,000 COVID-19 cases in Alberta, with more than 1,000 people in the hospital. On Wednesday, the province recorded 34 deaths from COVID-19, a record of nearly one day during the Alberta pandemic battle, second to one day last January when 38 deaths were reported.
According to the province’s own early warning system, Alberta is about three to four weeks away from the worst case taking hold in late October. That would mean that the 380 available ICU beds would be filled, forcing healthcare workers to choose, according to a protocol, who receives intensive care treatment and who does not.
On Wednesday, the Canadian Medical Association called for widespread circuit breaker closures in Alberta and Saskatchewan, another province that is setting records in dealing with a similar COVID-19 crisis among unvaccinated people.
Earlier this week, Kenney refused to introduce closures that would cause businesses, bars, gyms and restaurants to close for a period of time to slow the spread of the virus.
Reference-www.thestar.com