'Current wave is receding': Copping says Alta. has passed peak of sixth wave of COVID-19
The peak of the sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has passed in Alberta, Health Minister Jason Copping announced on Wednesday.
“The peak of BA.2 cases has passed, and the current wave is receding,” he said during the government’s weekly COVID-19 press conference.
Copping said between May 17 and May 23, the average COVID-19 positivity rate, as determined by PCR testing, was about 17.5 per cent, down from 20 per cent the week before.
Fifty five deaths were recorded last week, an average of eight deaths per day.
The minister made another push for Albertans to get vaccinated and to get their boosters.
“There’s still lots of COVID virus around, especially in Edmonton and Calgary, and we can’t expect it to go to zero,” he said. “It remains a real risk, especially to those who are unvaccinated or undervaccinated.”
Copping also announced that starting Thursday, Evushield will be available to Albertans who have had organ or cell transplants, blood cancer, or are taking certain immunocompromising drugs.
Evushield is not a treatment for COVID-19, but can help protect against the disease in those who are not infected.
Because the drug will only be available to a small portion of the population, it will only be prescribed through specialists who treat the requisite conditions.
While the BA.2 wave seems to be receding, the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are starting to spread in other regions.
The province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said on Wednesday that Alberta has confirmed its first case of the BA.4 subvariant.
“Evidence suggests that BA.4 and BA.5 are more transmissible than earlier variants, but do not cause increased risk of severe illness,” she said, adding Albertans should expect to see more variants and subvariants of COVID-19 in the future.
Copping also announced Wednesday that while the province would continue to provide COVID-19 data on a weekly basis, in-person updates will be reduced to once every two weeks.
The next update is expected on June 6.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'