By Chris Brown

Province asks feds for help transferring ICU patients out of Alberta

Sep 21, 2021 | 2:08 PM

Alberta has reached out to the federal government for help to relieve pressure on the province’s health-care system.

Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver has written a letter to Bill Blair, the federal minister of public safety and emergency preparedness, identifying two specific areas of potential assistance.

McIver asks for equipment and skilled health-care personnel to relocate patients out of Alberta, and for critical care staff, specifically ICU nurses and respiratory therapists.

McIver says federal assistance in these areas has the potential to create significant relief on the health-care system, and requests an immediate meeting to discuss the issue.

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As of Monday’s update, Alberta has more than 20,000 active cases of COVID-19 after 4,633 new cases were reported over the weekend.

There are now 954 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 216 of which are in ICU. The number of hospitalizations is a record-high for the province.