Hospitalizations climb, province further limits PCR testing eligibility

“PCR testing eligibility for testing will now be focused on those with clinical risk factors for severe outcomes and those who live or work in high-risk settings,” the chief medical officer of health announced Monday.

Some examples are continuing care residents, health-care workers and staff in acute and continuing care settings, shelters and correctional, and symptomatic household members of people who work in containing or acute care.

A full list is available on the government’s website.

She said all other provinces are also limiting PCR testing and asked anyone who has an appointment booked and does not meet the new eligibility criteria to cancel their appointment by calling 811.

With testing being limited during the fifth wave, Hinshaw acknowledged the reported case counts don’t give a proper indication of the situation in the province.

“I think it’s clear there are many more people with COVID than are being diagnosed,” she said. She estimated the province is catching about one out of every 10 cases.

Medicine Hat has had 5,295 total cases – the 582 active, 4,635 recovered and there have been 78 deaths.

There are 163 new cases in the city and 37 new recoveries since the Friday update.

An AHS spokesperson told CHAT News Tuesday that there are currently 18 COVID-19 positive inpatients in the South Zone with three of those in the ICU. There are four inpatients at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital with one COVID-19 positive patient in the ICU.

Chinook Regional Hospital has nine inpatients with two in the ICU. Cardston Health Centre, Crowsnest Pass Health Centre and Pincher Creek Health Centre have one inpatient each.

There have been 14,078 cases of the Omicron variant identified in Alberta, up from 12,650 on Friday. Of those, 318 cases are in the South Zone.

Among Hatters five years old and over, 81.4 per cent have received at least one dose of vaccine and 75.9 per cent have received two doses.

77.4 per cent of all Hatters have received at least one dose of vaccine at the latest update.

There are 57,332 active cases in the province, up 14,018 from Friday, and 352,153 recovered cases in the province, up 3,653.

Alberta’s total cases from the start of the pandemic is 412,829.

There are 17,577 new cases in the province since Friday.

There are now 635 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 72 of which are in ICU, and 3,344 deaths.

The province completed 45,162 tests in the past 24 hours.

The positivity rate is about 38.9 per cent.

Alberta has administered 7,900,731 doses of vaccine at the latest update.

“Even if only one per cent of cases are in hospital, that’s still a tremendous burden on our health-care system. That kind of surge has the potential to overwhelm our health-care facilites, not to mention to health-care providers who’ve been working tirelessly and non-stop for nearly two years,” _{— Dr. Deena Hinshaw}

Hinshaw said the Omicron variant is “so prevalent that if you have COVID-19 symptoms you should assume you have COVID 19 and are legally required to isolate.”

That means staying home and away from others for five or 10 days depending on vaccination status or until symptoms improve, whichever is longer. For most with mild illness, a test is not necessary and symptoms can be managed at home, she said.

The province has updated its online assessment tool to help people determine whether they need or are eligible to be tested and what type of care to seek at ahs.ca/covidscreen. The tool is only for adults right now, one for children should be available later this week.

Employers and organizations are being urged not to require proof of a positive test result to support sick leave requests. Anyone needing proof can download a new printable PDF form available online through the government’s website.

Hinshaw said vaccinations continue to be the best defense against COVID-19. She said Omicron appears to be milder in large part because it’s infecting people who are already protected through vaccination, and that booster doses are key in reducing the number of people in hospital.

“Even if only one per cent of cases are in hospital, that’s still a tremendous burden on our health-care system. That kind of surge has the potential to overwhelm our health-care facilities, not to mention to health-care providers who’ve been working tirelessly and non-stop for nearly two years,” said Hinshaw.

Among new cases today, 19.1 per cent are unvaccinated, 1.6 per cent are partially vaccinated and 79.3 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Among current hospitalizations, 40.2 per cent are unvaccinated, 4.9 per cent are partially vaccinated and 55 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Province-wide, 84.8 per cent of Albertans five years old and up have received at least one dose of vaccine and 77.9 per cent have received two doses and 27.7 per cent have received three doses.

Among Alberta’s total population, 79.7 per cent have received at least one dose of vaccine and 73.2 per cent have received two doses 26.1 per cent have received three doses.

There is one local outbreak listed on AHS website.

There are 2,328 active cases and 23,531 recovered in the South Zone. The death total in the zone is at 292.

The province-wide reproductive value for the week of Dec. 27-Jan 2 is 1.35. It is 1.34 in Calgary Zone, 1.30 in Edmonton Zone and 1.54 in the rest of Alberta.

At the last update from Nov. 29-Dec. 12, the numbers were 0.96 in the province, 0.90 in Calgary Zone, 0.99 in Edmonton Zone and 0.93 in the rest of Alberta.

Cypress County has totaled 941 cases. There are 55 active cases, 880 recovered and six deaths. 73.9 per cent of those five years old and up have at least one dose of vaccine, 69.1 have two doses.

The County of Forty Mile has 369 total cases. There are 23 active cases, 341 recovered and there have been five deaths. 47.8 per cent of those five years old and up have at least one dose of vaccine, 44.3 have two doses.

The MD of Taber has 1,373 total cases — 59 active cases, 1,296 recovered and there have been 18 deaths. 55.1 per cent of those five years old and up have at least one dose of vaccine, 51.2 have two doses

Special Areas No. 2 has 300 total cases – 21 active cases, 274 recovered and there have been three deaths.

Brooks has 2,208 total cases — 94 active cases and 2,090 are recovered. Brooks has recorded 24 deaths.

The County of Newell has a total of 547 cases — 13 active cases, 526 recovered and there have been eight deaths. 74.6 per cent of those five years old and up have at least one dose of vaccine, 68.9 have two doses The Newell numbers include the city of Brooks and part of Special Areas No. 2.

The County of Warner has 851 total cases. There are 49 active cases, 798 are recovered cases and there have been four deaths in the county. 67.5 per cent of those five years old and up have at least one dose of vaccine, 61.5 have two doses

The City of Lethbridge has a total of 8,489 cases. There are 1,043 active cases, 7,382 recovered and there have been 63 deaths. Lethbridge County has 2,153 cases, 109 active cases, 2,024 recovered and there have been 20 deaths.

Not all the areas on the vaccination data map match the case count map.

The figures on alberta.ca are “up-to-date as of end of day Jan. 9, 2022.

Saskatchewan has a total of 92,940 cases, 7,750 considered active. There are 84,229 recovered cases and there have been 961 COVID-19 deaths in the province.

by Chris Brown

Hospitalizations climb, province further limits PCR testing eligibility

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