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Another 1,263 cases of COVID-19 were reported in Alberta on Wednesday and 26 more people have died from the disease.
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Active cases have recently began to drop across all five of the province’s health zones after a series of mandatory health restrictions were put in place last month. By Wednesday, Alberta’s active cases declined by 544 from the previous day to 18,912, with 4,455 active cases in the Edmonton area and 4,629 in the Calgary area.
Hospitalizations are also declining but at a slower pace. By Wednesday there were 1,083 COVID-19 patients in hospital, a decrease of 11. There were 247 people in ICU, down by five.
But Alberta’s hospitals are still struggling to keep up, overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients who are seriously ill, the vast majority of whom have not been fully vaccinated.
This strain, amid skyrocketing cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks, prompted the Alberta government to request help from the Canadian military.
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On Wednesday, eight critical care nursing officers from Ontario and Nova Scotia were brought in and will work at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. In a tweet, Alberta Health Services said staff were doing orientation training on Wednesday and would soon be helping care for critically ill patients.
The Edmonton area has the highest number of patients needing intensive care.
The military is expected to support Edmonton staff until the end of October.
More to come …
— With files from The Canadian Press
