'We need to bend that curve': Alberta could transfer ICU patients to Ontario as hospitalizations near 900
Alberta is considering transferring ICU patients to other provinces as the fourth wave puts its health-care system under "extreme pressure."
Ontario has accepted to take on Alberta patients if needed, and Alberta Health Services is also in conversations with British Columbia and Manitoba, president and CEO Dr. Verna Yiu told reporters on Thursday. However, in a statement to CTV News, B.C. told Alberta it will not be able to help them "given the current demands" on its own health-care system right now.
Dr. Yiu stressed AHS hopes it does not get to that point, but added: "We do not have the ability to simply open more and more ICU spaces and hospital beds and we do not have an endless number of staff who can provide critical care."
Alberta currently has 310 ICU beds, a total that includes 137 surge beds, Dr. Yiu said. Eighty-six per cent of beds are occupied — largely by COVID-19 patients.
In addition to the possibility of out-of-province help, AHS says its field hospitals in Edmonton and Calgary are ready.
And the triage protocol is, too.
"We've started the educational process, so this week was sharing with our staff what it is and setting the infrastructure in place so if we had to use — again this would be an absolute, absolute last resort — that staff are ready, trained and prepared," Dr. Yiu said.
She begged unvaccinated Albertans to get immunized to protect themselves and others, and alleviate the stress on hospitals.
"If the numbers keep increasing, right now we're seeing on average about 18 to 20 new COVID ICU admissions every single day throughout the province, and we need to bend that curve. We need to bend that trend, and the best thing we can do is to [get vaccinated]. So I just can't say enough how important it is for Albertans to go out and get vaccinated."
KEY METRICS KEEP SPIKING
Alberta reported 1,718 new COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths on Thursday.
The province now has 18,706 active cases, 896 hospitalizations and 222 ICU admissions.
Alberta's pandemic death toll exceeded 2,500 on Thursday.
Close to 78 per cent of hospital cases are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said.
Of eligible Albertans, 79.6 per cent have one vaccine dose and 71.5 per cent have both.
Hinshaw, who gave regular media briefings for most of the pandemic before Alberta loosened its restrictions on July 1, said she would begin to give updates twice a week again.
"Given the crisis that our province is facing and the state of public health emergency that was issued yesterday, I will keep Albertans informed and will be here regularly to answer questions to the best of my ability."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.