covid-19 hospitalizations continue to rise in alberta
the province is seeing a record-high number of 691 covid-19 patients in hospital, including 187 in the icu
may 19 2021
3 minute read
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by: dylan short
the number of albertans in hospital due to covid-19 rose again tuesday, with 13 additional patients receiving acute care and six intensive care admissions since the day before.
the province is seeing a record-high number of 691 covid-19 patients in hospital, including 187 in the icu. health officials have said hospitalizations are expected to peak over the next two weeks due to the lag between infection and hospitalization.
the increases came a day after alberta health services president verna yiu said the province has more icu patients than ever before and premier jason kenney said the province is developing a summer reopening plan that will be centred partly around hospitalization numbers.
at her tuesday update, chief medical officer of health dr. deena hinshaw said the province needs to see case numbers drop and immunization rates increase in order to reopen safely
“we’re looking at jurisdictions around the world as we make recommendations about the kinds of opening framework that would be recommended to minimize this risk of opening causing a surge in cases, and a subsequent surge in hospitalizations, and potentially death,” said hinshaw. “as long as we are able to continue to have our numbers dropping and immunization rates rising, we will reach a point where those two numbers will be able to be protective of the community.”
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the province reported 877 new covid-19 cases on tuesday after 8,081 tests were completed in the past 24 hours. the number of people getting tested in alberta has dropped significantly this week after more than 11,000 tests were completed on may 15 and more than 20,000 on may 4.
when asked about the factors behind the decrease, hinshaw said everything from the weather to the number of social interactions people are having could be having an effect on who is deciding to get tested. she also pointed out that numbers often fluctuate throughout the week, with fewer tests often completed on weekends.
“i want to emphasize all the metrics that we’re looking at help us to understand the course of the pandemic, which includes that positivity, the new case rate, as well as the r value and so we are able to track all three,” said hinshaw. “i would encourage people if they are feeling slightly ill, if they’ve been in close contact with someone who’s a case, that it’s important to seek testing so that we are able to get that full picture.”
alberta currently has an 11.4 per cent positivity rate. hinshaw called that concerning, saying it shows the continued need for public health measures to be in place.
“it’s easy to forget that at this time last year, our positivity rate was about 1.5 per cent,” said hinshaw. “this emphasizes why public health measures are still needed.”
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the province’s r rate shows the spread of the virus is currently 0.84.
there were four covid-19 related deaths recorded in the past 24 hours.
meanwhile, a silver lining in the fight against covid-19 came tuesday as hinshaw announced more than 50 per cent of people have now received at least their first dose of vaccine. the province has administered a total of 2.24 million doses, and vaccination rates will be another factor in the reopening plan.
“there’s good research coming out of the u.k. now, showing that even after the first dose if someone ends up becoming infected they have a lower risk of going on to have severe outcomes and they also have a lower risk of passing the virus on to others,” said hinshaw.
alberta announced last week that there would no longer be appointments for first doses of astrazeneca shots due to supply issues, leaving many who already had a shot wondering what their second dose would be. hinshaw said there is new research, also out of the u.k., that shows getting a second shot of a different vaccine did not lead to an increased risk in safety.
the province is awaiting the results of a study that tests the number of antibodies that mixing doses creates to make a final decision on whether to proceed with mixing and matching doses.
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canada’s chief medical officer of health dr. theresa tam said tuesday it is “likely” canadians who have received an astrazeneca vaccine will be able to choose their second dose.
— with files from ashley joannou
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