Alberta pushes back expected COVID-19 peak; tells Newfoundland to hold off on sending help
Alberta has told Newfoundland to stand down on an offer to send extra health-care workers because the west province doesn’t think it has hit the peak of the fourth wave yet.
Newfoundland Premier Andrew Furey says he recently offered Alberta the same kind of help he offered Ontario in the spring.
“He (Premier Jason Kenney) was supportive of that and open to it and we began organizing here on the ground in Newfoundland and Labrador,” Furey recalled during a press conference on Tuesday.
Then, Furey said Kenney told him to pause the plan to send health-care workers in early October.
“Last week, Premier Kenney said that the situation had evolved to the point where their predictive modelling would suggest that they wouldn’t require our resources at this time,” Furey told media.
Kenney’s acting press secretary confirmed he “conveyed to Premier Furey that peak pressure on Alberta’s health-care system was now more likely to be experienced in late October rather than late September as earlier projected.”
Modelling released at the beginning of September suggested Alberta would see its highest number of COVID-19 ICU admissions by the end of the month: 300 in the worst-case scenario, and less than 200 in the mid-level scenario.
According to the latest data, Alberta has 265 COVID-19 patients in ICUs -- the most ever.
Furey said so long as Newfoundland’s own COVID-19 situation was under control, the province would be there to help Alberta.
“The offer still stands.”
Kenney’s press secretary, Harrison Fleming, told CTV News Edmonton Alberta was considering deploying any medical help received from the east to Fort McMurray.
Newfoundland sent more than a dozen health-care workers to Toronto and Brampton in May.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.