COVID-19: 1,166 new cases, 18 deaths reported in Alberta Wednesday as hospitalizations continue to rise

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In Alberta, 18 new deaths related to COVID-19 were reported over the past 24 hours as hospitalizations continued to rise Wednesday.

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The province has 647 COVID-19 patients in hospital, including 147 in intensive care units, up from 602 hospitalizations and 137 ICU patients as of Tuesday’s update. Seventeen new deaths were reported after the long weekend.

The latest numbers were shared via social media by chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw, who said full online reporting was delayed. There were 1,166 new cases reported after the completion of about 10,700 tests, representing a positivity rate of approximately 10.8 per cent.

Hinshaw said of those in the hospital, 76.6 per cent are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, while of those in the ICU, 89 per cent are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

On Friday, announcing an indoor public masking mandate, an alcohol curfew in bars and restaurants, and a $100 vaccination incentive, Premier Jason Kenney called the fourth wave of COVID-19 a “crisis of the unvaccinated.”

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As of Tuesday, 78.6 per cent of eligible Albertans had received one dose of vaccine, while 70.6 per cent were fully immunized. Among the entire population, 60 per cent were fully vaccinated, and 66.9 per cent partially vaccinated.

On Wednesday, Alberta Medical Association president Paul Boucher said in a public letter addressed to members that while some jurisdictions have had some success with strategies similar to Alberta’s, other Canadian provinces have seen bumps in vaccination uptake following the announcement of their vaccine passport plans.

“Alberta must be open to taking every opportunity to encourage vaccination and all options should be explored if the Friday measures fail to have the desired effect,” he said, adding any relief from rising case counts due to the new restrictions is weeks away.

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“The current state of our health-care system is concerning and recovery lies on the other side of yet more daunting weeks ahead,” said Boucher.

Alberta Health Services (AHS) also announced Wednesday that all elective surgeries in the Calgary Zone have been postponed, along with many outpatient procedures, for the rest of the week.

AHS spokesman Kerry Williamson said earlier Wednesday that a “small number” of cancer surgeries have been postponed in an effort to ensure the provincial health authority can increase ICU capacity to meet demand.

He added cancer surgeries are prioritized to make sure that those who have the most urgent need go first. The first priority is procedures for patients who have urgent, life-threatening complications related to cancer such as obstruction or bleeding, followed by those who have highly aggressive cancers which could progress if left untreated, and those who have less aggressive cancers which grow more slowly.

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Meanwhile, Alberta’s Opposition NDP called for the government to establish an independent scientific table to advise the government and provide Albertans with evidence and policy options to combat the fourth wave of COVID-19.

Leader Rachel Notley said Kenney’s government has lost the trust of Albertans to handle the fourth wave of the pandemic.

“We need to take the political filter off the science in this province,” said Notley at a Wednesday news conference, adding she’s confident an independent advisory group would be urging the government to immediately implement a province-wide vaccine passport.

— With files from Ashley Joannou

lijohnson@postmedia.com

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