EDMONTON – 1,263 cases of Covid-19 and 26 deaths in just twenty-four hours and infections in 756 schools: few numbers that give a good idea of ​​how serious the situation in Alberta is. The new infections, detected on Wednesday on 15,400 tests analyzed, bring the positive rate of the province to 8.27%, slightly lower but still very high compared to the other provinces of Canada (that of Ontario, to give an idea, today was 1.7%). 

The new concern is now about schools. 54 institutions have declared outbreaks, which means that 10 cases of Covid-19 or more have been identified. Another 702 schools are on alert, because between 2 and 9 cases of coronavirus have been identified in each.

A new emergency, therefore, which is added to that of the hospitals. On Wednesday, of the 374 beds available in ICU (including the 201 additional spaces above the province’s 173-bed baseline), as many as 300 were occupied and the vast majority of patients are Covid-19 positive. At the provincial level, the occupation of the intensive care capacity is 80%.

According to experts from Alberta Health Services, the number of patients in intensive care units across the province has decreased by 3.5% in the past seven days. But the system is still close to collapse, so much so that, as announced, military aid has arrived.

The Canadian military provided eight intensive care nurses – from Ontario and Nova Scotia – who began shifts as early as Wednesday afternoon at Royal Alexandra Hospital.

The data relating to deaths are also significant. As we said, Alberta registered another 26 on Wednesday, with the province’s total death toll rising to 2,804. Well, Alberta’s medical director of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said 21 of the 26 people who died were not vaccinated. Those who died were between the ages of 22 and 94, Hinshaw said.

“Vaccines work,” the doctor pointed out in a tweet. “They protect us, our families, the community and our health system. This is a sad reminder that COVID does not discriminate and that Alberta residents of all ages can be at risk of serious illness or even death. That’s why it’s important to get fully vaccinated to get the best possible protection against the virus. “

In confirmation, Hinshaw has released data relating to people hospitalized with Covid-19. The number dropped slightly to 1,083 on Wednesday, which is down from 1,094 people in hospital the day before. Of the hospitalized, 247 are hospitalized in intensive care. And of the 836 people not in ICU, Hinshaw said 73.7 percent are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, while of the 247 people in ICU, as many as 90.2 percent are either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

At present, of the eligible population in Alberta, 84.6% have received one dose of the vaccine and 75.2% are fully immunized with two doses.

As for the number of (known) active cases of Covid-19 in Alberta, it fell to 18,912 on Wednesday, down from 19,456 active cases on Tuesday.

Of the active cases, 4,629 are in the Calgary area, 4,455 are in the Edmonton area, 3,955 are in the Central area, 3,801 are in the North area, 2,054 are in the South area, and 18 are not related to any particular area.

In the photo, ICU Nursing Officers and a Senior Nursing Officer arrived in Alberta to help the healthcare staff (image from Alberta Health Services Twitter profile)