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Alberta has confirmed 1,155 new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, provincial officials said Friday.
“Our current situation is grim,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw. He added this week, Alberta has confirmed more new active cases than any other week since the start of the pandemic.
There are now 10,655 active cases in the province; 4,272 in the Calgary area and 4,520 in the Edmonton area.
Alberta’s positivity rate stands at 6.5%. More than 17,000 laboratory tests have been carried out in the past 24 hours.
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There are 310 Albertans in the hospital with COVID-19; 58 of whom are in intensive care units.
Hinshaw said that while Alberta health services may expand critical care capacity in Edmonton and Calgary, it means those beds are not available for patients with other diseases.
“AHS is working to increase capacity for COVID-19 patients as needed,” he said. “Those higher capacity beds mean fewer amenities for others. We can not do it.
“It means stopping and delaying other services. This is the impact we want to avoid. “
Hinshaw stressed that everyone must do their part to reduce the pressure on all aspects of the healthcare system.
“The system is taxed.”
He said the contact trackers are working tirelessly and “heroically” but facing “an uphill battle”.
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Eleven deaths linked to COVID-19 were reported on Friday, bringing the death toll from the Alberta pandemic to 462.
“Eleven fellow Albertani are gone and their family and friends are mourning their deaths,” Hinshaw said.
Seven of the deaths were linked to epidemics: the deaths of a 90-year-old woman, an 80-year-old woman and an 80-year-old man are linked to the Edmonton General Care Center; the deaths of a woman in her sixties and a man in her nineties are linked to Gray Nuns Community Hospital; the death of a woman in her 90s in the Edmonton area is linked to Covenant Care Chateau Vitaline; and the death of a man in his seventies from the north is linked to the Grande Prairie Care Center.
A man in his 60s from the Edmonton area, a man in his 60s from the south area, a woman in his 70s from the Calgary area and a man in his 80s from the central area also died.
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Hinshaw said she continues to be concerned about the tragic results in Alberta. It would be a mistake, he said, if people thought that severe results only occur in older people.
“This week, two people in their thirties died from this virus.
“Although they both had comorbidities, they weren’t life-threatening alone.”
Hinshaw explained that many Albertans have chronic conditions, which can include things like high blood pressure or diabetes.
Alberta Health said 32,835 people have recovered from the disease.
No new restrictions announced
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Neither Premier Jason Kenney nor Health Minister Tyler Shandro attended the press conference on Friday. Hinshaw explained that elected officials traditionally participate in COVID-19 updates when there are announcements or changes to be made public.
There were no new restrictions announced by Hinshaw on Friday.
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She said she and her team continue to discuss possible additional measures to be presented to decision makers.
“I can’t speak for the premier … but as part of the recommendations I’ve made, there’s always been consideration of the impact of COVID-19 and the impact of restrictions.”
Hinshaw said his job means he is responsible for the entire health of the Albertans.
“It has been difficult to consider what the right balance is and what the right set of measures would be to reduce COVID-19 rates while maintaining the mental benefits of socialization, of being employed, of being able to exercise.”
He had hoped the recent measures would somehow slow down the spread, but that wasn’t the case, Hinshaw said. Therefore, he said his team will need to make recommendations on further restrictions.
“We can’t let COVID-19 spread out of control.”
A spokesman for the premier’s office said, The government depends on the best scientific advice from its medical experts, including Chief Medical Officer of Health Hinshaw.
“His team is currently preparing a suite of options,” Christine Myatt said in an email to Global News. “The government will obviously communicate any decisions clearly to the public if / when they occur.”
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On Friday, the premier joined Hinshaw for the press conference, announcing new health measures in an effort to lower COVID-19 rates and hospitalizations. They included asking not to host social gatherings at home and to wear masks in the workplace.
On November 12, the province announced that indoor group fitness classes and team sports would be banned for two weeks from November 13 to November 27 in the Calgary area, Edmonton area, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge and Red Deer.
Restaurants and pubs in the above areas, as well as areas in “improved state”, must stop selling liquor by 10pm and close by 11pm. This measure will also be in effect from 13 to 27 November.
The mayor of Calgary doesn’t think the current restrictions are helping.
“We should have seen the numbers go down by now,” Naheed Nenshi said during an interview with 770 CHQR on The Morning News with Sue Deyell and Andrew Schultz on Fridays.
“We generally see the numbers respond – if they do – within 5-14 days. Fourteen is really the outlier. And the fact that they didn’t respond is actually quite worrying.
“It’s not about panic or fear, it’s about being very clear-headed … looking at these numbers and where they are going.”
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Nenshi said the most troubling numbers are increased hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths. He said he spoke to Hinshaw and the premier earlier this week and they are also very, very worried.
“It is very clear that they are very concerned with these numbers. The premier continues to be particularly concerned about what will happen to retail businesses as we enter the holiday season if we have more than one closure.
“But I think it’s pretty clear that the more restrictive measures will come to the province as soon as possible,” he said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they applied more restrictions before the end of the two-week period they announced last week, especially with numbers like yesterday’s.”
Whatever the rules in place, Nenshi encourages people to support local businesses as much as possible but securely – shop online and order from a small local business using their website, delivery or curbside pickup.
“A lot of companies have told me, ‘Look, if you’re going to do it, do it now, so we have the opportunity to save some of the Christmas season … Stop it. Don’t keep waiting, ”Nenshi said.
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“Today, Ontario will announce more restrictions, there is now a mask mandate in every province of the country except Alberta, so I guess the pressure on the provincial government on this is pretty high.
“We are not waiting for the government to tell us the right thing to do,” he added. “It’s time for people to start limiting our activities now.”
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