Unused field hospital at Butterdome coming down: AHS
The Canadian Red Cross field hospital at Edmonton's Butterdome will be torn down without ever having been needed.
COVID-19 may have stressed Alberta's hospital network, but by reducing non-emergent surgery capacity, the province was able to keep the system from being fully overloaded. And so the tent hospital set up at the University of Alberta arena will be dismantled without having hosted a patient, a government spokesperson confirmed to CTV News Edmonton on Friday.
Work will begin on the weekend, Alberta Health Service's Kerry Willliamson said.
The field hospital, capable of treating 100 patients, was ready to operate in January.
At the time, 119 of 726 hospitalized Albertans with COVID-19 were in ICUs.
Total COVID-19 hospitalizations had peaked weeks earlier in late December around 900, although ICU admissions would reach a record during the third wave in May around 180.
By reducing non-emergent surgeries by 30 per cent at times, the province was able to make room for up to 425 COVID-19 ICU patients.
Another temporary measure AHS calls a pandemic response unit remains installed at the Kaye Edmonton Clinic, which Williamson said could be operational if needed by mid-June.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Matthew Black
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From essential goods to common stocking stuffers, Trudeau offering Canadians temporary tax relief
Canadians will soon receive a temporary tax break on several items, along with a one-time $250 rebate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
She thought her children just had a cough or fever. A mother shares sons' experience with walking pneumonia
A mother shares with CTVNews.ca her family's health scare as medical experts say cases of the disease and other respiratory illnesses have surged, filling up emergency departments nationwide.
Putin says Russia attacked Ukraine with a new missile that he claims the West can't stop
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that Moscow has tested a new intermediate-range missile in a strike on Ukraine, and he warned that it could use the weapon against countries that have allowed Kyiv to use their missiles to strike Russia.
Service Canada holding back 85K passports amid Canada Post mail strike
Approximately 85,000 new passports are being held back by Service Canada, which stopped mailing them out a week before the nationwide Canada Post strike.
Taylor Swift's motorcade spotted along Toronto's Gardiner Expressway
Taylor Swift is officially back in Toronto for round two. The popstar princess's motorcade was seen driving along the Gardiner Expressway on Thursday afternoon, making its way to the downtown core ahead of night four of ‘The Eras Tour’ at the Rogers Centre.
Manitoba RCMP issue Canada-wide warrant for Ontario semi-driver charged in deadly crash
Manitoba RCMP have issued a Canada-wide arrest warrant for the semi-driver involved in a crash that killed an eight-year-old girl and her mother.
Here's a list of items that will be GST/HST-free over the holidays
Canadians won’t have to pay GST on a selection of items this holiday season, the prime minister vowed on Thursday.
Mother charged after infant dies in midtown Toronto: police
The mother of an infant who died after being found at an apartment building in midtown Toronto on Wednesday has been charged with failing to provide the necessaries of life.
B.C. man who sold Porsche to scammers shares cautionary tale
A man from B.C.’s Lower Mainland who was scammed while selling his Porsche Cayenne online is sharing his cautionary tale – while calling for increased protections from the government.