COVID-19 hospital admissions still rising as other indicators drop

“It looks like we’re passing the peak of BA.2 circulation with less impact than we saw with BA.1 thanks to vaccine and prior exposure,” Copping said at the regular mid-week update.

“But hospital admissions are still rising and they’ll continue to rise for a few more weeks, even assuming virus levels continue to decline.”

Another 47 Albertans are in hospital with COVID-19 this week, and one fewer person is in ICU.

Copping added this is similar to the situation in other provinces.

He also said the overall hospital system remains under significant stress.

Copping announced two changes to the prescribing of Paxlovid, the antiviral pill for treating COVID-19.

Starting today, Albertans who meet the clinical criteria for COVID can be assessed for treatment and obtain a prescription from a physician, nurse practitioner or pharmacist.

The testing requirements are also more flexible effective today, adding a positive rapid test to the already acceptable positive PCR test.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw also addressed flu season in Alberta, saying influenza levels are higher than at any time in the past two years. She said more than 700 cases have been identified this season, the vast majority in the past two months.

She said actions to lower the risk of influenza are the same as for COVID: washing hands regularly, staying home if sick and considering masking in public places.

Medicine Hat’s COVID seven-day new case rate per 100,000 people is 104.2 on 71 new cases in the past seven days. The previous period’s rate was 173.2 and there were 118 new cases.

The city is in the “high” classification for seven-day case rate, the same as last week. There are four classifications – highest, high, medium and low.

There have been 7,800 confirmed total cases in Medicine Hat and 97 deaths, three new in the past week.

With the province limiting testing in the fifth wave and since, these confirmed cases do not accurately reflect the number of cases in the community.

Among all Medicine Hat residents, 78.6 per cent have received one dose of vaccine, 75.1 per cent have received two doses and 36 per cent have received three doses.

A spokesperson for Alberta Health Services told CHAT News on Wednesday there are currently 72 COVID-19 positive inpatients in the South Zone with five of those in the ICU. There are 17 inpatients at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital with three COVID-19 positive patients in the ICU.

Chinook Regional Hospital has 38 inpatients with two in the ICU. Crowsnest Pass Health Centre has nine inpatients; Pincher Creek Health Centre has three; Cardston Health Centre has two; Bassano Health Centre, Brooks Health Centre and Taber Health Centre have one each.

There are now 1,267 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 46 of which are in ICU, and 4,321 deaths. Sixty-nine Albertans have died from COVID in the past week.

Alberta’s total cases from the start of the pandemic is 570,806.

There are 5,754 new cases confirmed in the province over the past seven days.

Again these are only the confirmed cases and do not accurately reflect the number of cases in the province.

Alberta has administered 8,741,621 doses of vaccine at the latest update.

In the last seven days, COVID was the primary or a contributing factor in 61.1 per cent of non-ICU hospitalizations and 87 per cent of ICU admissions.

Among current hospitalizations, 21.6 per cent are unvaccinated, 2.9 per cent have had one dose, 26.2 per cent have had two doses and 49.3 per cent have had three doses.

Among Alberta’s total population, 81.2 per cent have received at least one dose of vaccine and 76.9 per cent have received two doses 37.5 per cent have received three doses.

More detailed information is available on the province’s COVID-19 dashboard.

by Chris Brown

COVID-19 hospital admissions still rising as other indicators drop

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