Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Monday, Sept. 13

The latest COVID-19 numbers:

• Alberta reported 4,740 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend:
  • 1,659 new cases out of 14,574 tests on Friday.
  • 1,497 new cases out of 12,182 tests on Saturday.
  • 1,584 new cases out of 13,332 tests on Sunday.
• Alberta reported 18 more deaths from COVID on Monday. A total of 2,462 Albertans have died of COVID-19. 
• The positivity rate was 11.8 per cent.
• The province is leading the country in daily new COVID cases and active cases. 
• There were 18,395 active cases across Alberta.
• By comparison, Ontario, a province with more than three times the population, has one-third the number of active cases.

• There were 803 people being treated in hospital, 198 of whom were in intensive care beds. Of those not in ICU, 74.1 per cent were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, as of Friday. Of those in ICU, 91.2 per cent were unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.
• The R-value, which represents the average number of people infected by each infected person, was 1.12 (with a confidence interval of 1.1 to 1.14) for Aug. 30 to Sept. 5.
• 249,920 Albertans are considered to have recovered from COVID-19.​​​​

• Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is condemning planned protests by an anti-mandatory vaccination group at hospitals in Edmonton and Calgary on Monday. 
• Health Minister Tyler Shandro, accused of not doing enough to stop a COVID-19 surge swamping hospitals, said Friday that the provincial government wants to see the effect of recent health restrictions before adding any new ones.
• Shandro announced Thursday that Alberta will move patients out of acute-care hospital beds to make room for others sick with COVID-19.
• Dr. Verna Yiu, CEO of Alberta Health Services, says intensive care beds are at 148 per cent of capacity, and critically ill patients are being directed to overflow wards.
• Non-emergency surgeries have been cut by as much as 60 per cent provincewide and the Calgary health zone has cancelled all non-urgent procedures for the rest of the week.
• The province says it will provide up to $36 million in new funding to improve wages and create additional workforce capacity to allow more Albertans to receive care outside of hospitals. About $22 million will be used to increase the pay of health-care aides working in contracted agencies.
• A group of Alberta physicians is warning that the province's health-care system is on the verge of collapse due to a staffing crisis, overwhelmed intensive care units and mixed messaging from the province.
• They are asking the Alberta government to strengthen public health measures to fend off the province's fourth wave of COVID-19 as case numbers and hospitalizations surge.

WATCH | Dr. Hinshaw says vaccines critical to preventing death, severe illness:

COVID-19 vaccines 'making a profound difference' in preventing deaths, Hinshaw says

3 years ago

Duration 1:58

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, says vaccines are a powerful tool in preventing severe outcomes and death and more Albertans need to get vaccinated.

The latest on restrictions and reopenings:

• Nine of Alberta's post-secondary institutions — such as University of Alberta, University of Calgary, University of Lethbridge, MacEwan University, Medicine Hat College, Mount Royal University, NAIT, SAIT and NorQuest College — will introduce a vaccination mandate, require vaccination proof, and add changes to rapid testing programs.
• A dozen mayors in the Edmonton region are urging the provincial government to adopt both a vaccine passport and mandatory masking in schools. 
• Some Alberta businesses are saying they're becoming increasingly frustrated with the provincial government's refusal so far to introduce a vaccine passport program.
• A poll released last week by the Angus Reid Institute suggests 54 per cent of Alberta respondents agreed that mandatory proof of vaccination was a good idea.
• The Alberta government has cancelled plans to end the mandatory 10-day quarantine requirement for people with confirmed cases of COVID-19, Alberta Health has confirmed.
• Other measures that the provincial government had set to ramp down on Sept. 27 — including contact tracing and testing — will continue in their current form.
• The decision to maintain the status quo comes several weeks after the Alberta government announced a six-week delay of measures that were originally set to take effect on Aug. 16. 
• The first announcement, on July 28, would have made the 10-day isolation period a recommendation rather than a requirement. Testing would have been moved from screening centres to doctors' offices. 
• The measures were met with strong criticism from physicians and the public. 

WATCH: Dr. Gabriel Fabreau, who works on the COVID-19 unit at the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary, reacts to the province's handling of the fourth wave:

Calgary doctor worried province not doing enough to grapple with surging COVID cases

3 years ago

Duration 6:19

Dr. Gabriel Fabreau, who works on the COVID-19 unit at the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary, speaks to the CBC's Rob Brown about the update on Thursday from Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro and Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

• On Sept. 3, Premier Jason Kenney announced that because of skyrocketing COVID-19 infection numbers and hospitalizations, the province is introducing new temporary restrictions and rules.
  • As of Sept. 4, masks once again became mandatory in all indoor public spaces and workplaces. Schools will not be required to implement masking. School boards can continue to set COVID-19 management policies as they deem appropriate.
  • Also, as of Sept. 4, restaurants, cafés, bars, pubs, nightclubs and other licensed establishments are required to end alcohol service at 10 p.m.
  • The province strongly recommends unvaccinated Albertans limit their indoor social gatherings to close contacts of only two cohort families up to a maximum of 10 people.
  • "This is essentially now a crisis of the unvaccinated," Kenney said at the Friday news conference.
  • Employers are being encouraged to pause their plans to have staff return to work and instead continue with work-from-home measures. If employees are working on location, employees must mask for all indoor settings, except in work stations or where two-metre physical distancing or adequate physical barriers are in place.
• Calgary reinstated a state of local emergency and passed a municipal mask bylaw on Sept.3.
• The City of Calgary will require all staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and is postponing mandatory return to work for city employees until Oct. 20.
• The latest school restrictions and updates:
  • The Calgary Catholic School District says even though Alberta Health Services has ceased notifying schools when there is a positive case in their building and doing contact tracing, the board will continue to notify families of positive cases when they're aware of them. 
  • The Calgary Board of Education reopened registration for its online learning option because of the continued uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Mask requirements remain in place for both Edmonton and Calgary public schools and Catholic schools.
  • Both Edmonton school districts intend to work with Alberta Health Services to offer pop-up vaccination clinics for older students.
• The latest post-secondary restrictions and updates:
  • Bow Valley College in Calgary will require all students and employees attending its campuses to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. In a statement the college says it based the decision on overwhelming feedback, and scientific evidence that strongly supports the efficacy of vaccines. Students and employees must have their second dose administered at least two weeks before October 22. 
  • The Alberta University of the Arts has announced most of its classes are moving online starting Sept. 8 for the first two weeks of school, because of delays in getting a rapid testing program off the ground. President Daniel Doz said the move is temporary, and the Calgary university has every intention of bringing all classes back in person.
  • Students and staff at Calgary's Mount Royal University are required to wear masks in all indoor spaces on campus, including classrooms, labs, hallways and meeting/study rooms. MRU is working out details for a frequent rapid testing program for students who have not declared they are fully vaccinated.
  • At the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge, anyone not fully vaccinated will have to undergo regular rapid testing. Edmonton's MacEwan University is also planning to implement rapid testing for students who are not vaccinated. The four schools are also requiring mask-wearing in public indoor areas where physical distancing is not possible.
  • A number of other post-secondary institutions are requiring masks in all indoor spaces, including SAIT and Bow Valley College in Calgary, and NAIT and Concordia University in Edmonton. 

The latest on vaccines:

• The United Conservative Party launched a feedback survey in July to learn how supporters felt about vaccine passports. But many Albertans only recently became aware of the survey, and some feel the party is letting politics dictate how to approach a public health issue.
• The No Vaccine Passports Survey states that Alberta Premier Jason Kenney stands against mandating vaccine passports and that they would violate individuals' privacy rights. 
• Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, says pregnant people are at high risk of very serious illness and are urging them to get their COVID-19 vaccinations. An unvaccinated pregnant Alberta woman died from a COVID-related infection following admission into intensive care units, sources familiar with the death say.
• Dr. Eliana Castillo, a clinical associate professor with the departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Medicine at the University of Calgary, says the proportion of unvaccinated pregnant women in Alberta admitted into the ICU is rising dramatically as the pandemic surges.
• Hinshaw said on Sept. 9 that in the past four months, 84 per cent of all those who died from COVID-19 have not been fully immunized. 
• The province announced on Sept. 3 that Albertans will be given $100 to get a first or second dose of vaccine against COVID-19. The $100 incentive will be a debit card available starting Friday for people who register for it online. It will be available until Oct. 14.
• 60.5 per cent of all Albertans (or 71.2 per cent of those eligible) have received two doses of a COVID vaccine, and 67.4 per cent of all Albertans (or 79.2 per cent of those eligible) have received at least one dose.

• Those are still the lowest numbers in the country, save for Nunavut. Canada-wide, 68.3 per cent of the total population (or 78.2 per cent of those eligible) have received two doses of vaccine, and 74.4 per cent of the total population (or 85.1 per cent of those eligible) received at least one dose, according to the CBC's vaccine tracker.
• Alberta Health Services announced on Sept. 7 it would require all employees and contracted health-care providers — including physicians — to be fully vaccinated.
• The policy applies to AHS, Alberta Precision Labs, Carewest, CapitalCare and Covenant Health workers, members of medical and midwifery staffs, students, volunteers and anyone acting on their behalf. The latest an individual must receive their second dose is Oct. 16. 
• The Alberta government is making a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine available for immunocompromised Albertans and for all seniors living in congregate care facilities.
• In addition, mRNA doses — that's Pfizer or Moderna — will be made available to Albertans travelling to a jurisdiction that does not accept visitors vaccinated with AstraZeneca, Covishield, or mixed doses.
• Alberta feed stores are receiving a deluge of callers asking to buy ivermectin because of misinformation that suggests the livestock dewormer can be used to treat COVID-19 in humans.
  • Different forms of ivermectin are used to treat parasites, such as intestinal worms or lice, in both animals and humans. But the livestock form of the drug should never be used on humans, and parasites are not the same as viruses. COVID-19 is caused by a virus. 
  • The largest study in favour of ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment was retracted after concerns about data fabrication, plagiarism and ethical breaches. No clinical studies have proven whether ivermectin can slow or stop the novel coronavirus from growing in human cells.

See which regions are being hit hardest:

Here is the detailed regional breakdown of active cases as reported by the province on Monday.

• Edmonton zone: 5,357.
• Calgary zone: 5,226.
• North zone: 3,199.
• Central zone: 2,751.
• South zone: 1,802.
• Unknown: 60.

The latest on hospital outbreaks:

The province says that as of Monday there were COVID-19 outbreaks at 14 AHS and Covenant Health acute care facilities:

• North Zone:
  • Beaverlodge Municipal Hospital.
  • Redwater Health Centre.
• Edmonton Zone:
  • Grey Nuns Community Hospital.
  • Misericordia Community Hospital. 
  • Royal Alexandra Hospital.
  • Sturgeon Community Hospital.
  • University of Alberta Hospital.
• Central Zone:
  • Drumheller Health Centre.
  • Myron Thompson Health Centre.
  • Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre.
  • Wainwright Health Centre.
• South Zone:
  • Medicine Hat Regional Hospital.
• Calgary Zone:
  • Foothills Medical Centre.
  • Rockyview General Hospital.

The latest on school outbreaks:

There are ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks at a number of schools across the province.

• The Calgary Board of Education told parents Friday that, as of Sept. 13, schools will begin providing notifications when families self-report an AHS-confirmed case of COVID-19 to their school. 
• "If families report a positive case to the school, you are providing consent for the school to send out a notice to specific classes associated with the self-reported case, as well as a general notice to the school community at the end of the school day," the board's notice said.
• To date, four Calgary Board of Education schools have outbreaks: Cappy Smart School, Woods School, Children's Village School and Niitsitapi Learning Centre. 
• In a letter sent home to families from these schools, Alberta Health Services says a greater than 10 per cent absenteeism rate has been confirmed at the schools due to respiratory illness, and that AHS has initiated investigations.
• Outbreaks have also been confirmed at École Notre-Dame des Monts in Canmore — which is a part of the Franco Sud board — as well as the Prairie Rose School Division's Eagle Butte High School, which has reported 21 active cases.
• Every school in the Medicine Hat Public School Division is reporting positive COVID-19 cases, superintendent Mark Davidson said in an online update Wednesday.

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