COVID-19: Hospitalizations Hit Another Pandemic Record, Alberta Reports 1,651 New Cases

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COVID-19 patients in Alberta hospitals reached a pandemic high for the sixth consecutive day of reporting on Friday.

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The province reported 1,061 hospitalized people, an increase of three from the previous day. There are also 243 Albertans in intensive care units, an increase of 17.

Alberta hospitals have been overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, most of whom are not vaccinated, and the Canadian Armed Forces are preparing to deploy airlift and nurses to transport patients to other provinces and assist bedside personnel. of the ICU in the province.

On Thursday, Dr. Verna Yiu, director of Alberta Health Services, said staff are working to create additional space where possible and acknowledged the stark reality of the crisis.

“It is tragic that we can only keep up with these kinds of numbers because, in part, some of our ICU patients have passed away. And this reality has a profound and lasting impact on our UCI teams, ”he said.

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The province has yet to formally invoke the triage policy, which would force doctors to make decisions on the ground about who gets life-saving resources and who doesn’t.

But Dr. Paul Parks, chief of emergency medicine for the Alberta Medical Association, said Friday that major components of triage have already started in hospitals, a claim disputed by the province.

Alberta reported 11 other COVID-related deaths on Friday.

Active cases in the province fell by 140 to 20,040, including 5,461 in the Edmonton area and 5,105 in the Calgary area.

Another 1,651 Albertans tested positive for the virus, with a test positivity rate of 9.8 percent.

More vaccines have been injected into the arms of Albertans since the province’s restriction waiver program was introduced, which took effect on September 20. 82.3 percent of those over the age of 12 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. while 73.4 percent of those eligible are fully vaccinated, that is, 62.4 percent of the total population.

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While vaccination rates have increased, the province’s medical director of health, Deena Hinshaw, posted on Twitter that the government is hearing reports of people falsifying proof of vaccination documents for the purpose of using them for the immunization exemption program. restrictions.

Hinshaw said they need Albertans to do everything they can to reduce the strain on the healthcare system, and that includes abiding by the rules and not looking for ways around the current rules.

“To be clear: falsifying records is against the best interests of Albertans’ health and is a criminal offense under the Penal Code and can also be a crime under the Health Information Act,” reads one of Hinshaw’s tweets. Instead of risking the possible consequences, get vaccinated. It’s your best protection. “

– with archives from The Canadian Press

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