'Reduce community transmission': Alberta's former top doctor calls for more action on COVID-19
Alberta's former chief medical officer of health and a critical care physician penned a letter Sunday urging action from the province to slow community spread of COVID-19.
As hospitalizations continue to climb and the Canadian Armed Forces prepares to assist with patient transfers out of the province, Dr. James Talbot and Dr. Noel Gibney say the province needs to take action this week “to prevent more disease, deaths, and suffering.”
“Albertan’s hospital system, especially ICUs, are under more killing stress than at any time in the province’s history,” the pair of doctors said in a letter to the province’s new health minister.
“We are within days of being forced to implement a triage protocol which will force health care workers to make life and death decision on who will get scarce resources, like ventilators,” they wrote.
The doctors recommend mandating vaccine passports for entry into non-essential businesses and making vaccines mandatory for all provincial employees and agencies, like Alberta Blue Cross and the Workers Compensation Board.
- 'People will suffer and will die': Emergency doctor says some health triage has begun in Alberta
- COVID-19 in Alberta: 11 deaths, as ICU patient count hits record high on Friday
In their letter, the doctors also said that while those measures increase vaccine uptake, “urgent actions” are necessary to “rapidly deal with the urgent crisis in Alberta” of rampant community spread of COVID-19.
To slow case growth, the doctors recommended the provincial government:
- transfer ICU patients to ICUs in other provinces immediately;
- restore contact tracing of patients who test positive for COVID-19;
- mandate masking inside schools, including when students are seated at their desks
- implement a series of “fire break” closures and restrictions for a minimum four weeks that shutter all night clubs, casinos, bars, indoor dining, and indoor exercise facilities; and
- create capacity limits for places or worship, stores, and malls.
The letter was addressed to Health Minister Jason Copping who took over the portfolio this week from Tyler Shandro.
“Even if you were to implement the measures that we recommend today, it will take at least four weeks for them to have an effect on ICU beds,” the letter said. “Time is of the essence. Albertans deserve better.”
In a statement to CTV News Edmonton, a spokesperson for the health minister said “we’re supporting AHS in taking every possible step to continue to provide care to critically sick patients.”
“We have put proven measures in place to work to bend the curve and protect the health system,” the statement added. “Similar measures successfully overcame previous waves, and we are working hard to overcome this current crisis.”
The government is also “developing new efforts” to increase COIVD-19 vaccine uptake.
- 'At the very edge of the cliff': AMA says triage already happening in Alberta hospitals
- 'A critical time': Alberta's top doctor calls out individuals trying to use fake COVID-19 vaccine card
'AN URGENT NEED FOR ACTION'
In an interview with CTV News, Talbot attributed the situation Alberta is experiencing to the open for summer plan.
“When the government in July got rid of all the precautions, at the same time they guaranteed that this fourth wave was going to happen and that it would be so strong and that it would put intense pressure on the health care system,” he said.
“And then in August, when their own projections showed that, that’s exactly what was going to happen. They choose not to inform the public and as a consequence, there was a lost opportunity for individuals and businesses to make better choices.”
Talbot said the rise of deaths and hospitalizations in the province is a concerning trend that needs to stop and is entirely preventable.
“The longer the minister delays in taking action, the more people are going to join that total,” he added.
“The 20 per cent (who are unvaccinated) are clogging up our hospitals now and they’re depriving the rest of Albertans the opportunity to have a functioning health care system that’s there for them when they need it.”
The letter intended to show the sense of urgency that is needed to address the increasing amount of pressure hospitals are facing, Talbot said.
“We know the (measures we recommended) have worked in the past,” he said. “So we’re asking the minister to recognize that there’s a crisis and that there’s a need, an urgent need for action on the part of the government.
“We want to see the minister act with a degree of urgency that’s required to help save that system.”
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.