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
Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Federal government bans watercraft from Manitoba lake popular with tourists
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
Her SUV was stolen in Montreal. A Good Samaritan on Facebook helped her get it back
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.