Calgary hospitals under a different kind of stress during Alberta's 5th wave

A high-profile Calgary emergency room doctor is warning hospitals in the city are under significant strain as the highly transmissible Omicron variant sweeps through the province.

"The Omicron variant is rampant at this point in time," said Dr. Eddy Lang, department head of emergency medicine in the Calgary zone.

According to Lang, there are a number of factors both directly and indirectly related to COVID-19 that are leading to this pressure.

"It's just the perfect storm," said Lang, who estimates about 10 per cent of all hospitalized patients in Calgary zone are positive for Omicron.

He said roughly half of them are there to be treated for other conditions and happen to test positive. Those patients need to be isolated from others within the hospital which takes additional resources, time and space.

There are staffing shortages too, as many doctors and nurses are either sick or in isolation due to possible exposure.

And, he said, a number of nursing homes where patients go to recover after hospitalization have closed to new admissions due to outbreaks.

"We're seeing unprecedented levels of hospitalized patients who cannot get a bed upstairs. They're occupying space and resources in the emergency department and is making for some very challenging working conditions right now," Lang said.

According to Lang, while all Calgary area hospitals are stretched, the Peter Lougheed hospital and South Health Campus are currently the hardest hit, with both operating at well over 100 per cent capacity.

But Calgary's ICUs are not currently under the same kind of pressure they experienced during the fourth wave, he said, because fewer people are presenting with severe lung disease.

He said most of the patients currently hospitalized for Omicron don't need ventilators but do need less intensive treatment, such as oxygen or rehydration. And virtually all of them are unvaccinated or have just one dose.

Alberta Health statistics show the number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in the province has increased by 43 per cent since Dec. 29, 2021.

There are currently 212 people with COVID-19 in Calgary zone hospitals, including 25 in intensive care. According to Lang, the 212 patients include both those who are sick with COVID and those who screened positive but are there for other health concerns.

Craig Jenne, associate professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Calgary, said it's impossible to know the extent of community transmission.