Health Minister Jason Copping to join Dr. Deena Hinshaw at COVID-19 update Tuesday
CBC
Health Minister Jason Copping and Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, will provide an update Tuesday on COVID-19 and its impact on the health-care system.
Copping and Hinshaw will speak at 3:30 p.m. MT. Watch it live here.
As of Monday's update, 1,304 people infected with COVID-19 were in Alberta hospitals, the highest total seen since the pandemic began in March 2020.
The total number of people in hospital with COVID-19 included 108 patients in intensive care.
As of Monday, provincial ICU capacity, including additional surge beds, was at 85 per cent. Without the additional surge spaces, provincial ICU capacity would be at 118 per cent.
The province reported 41 new deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, combining three days of data from over the weekend.
There have now been 3,470 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The pressure on the health-care system has seen the province bring in hundreds of student nurses to care for COVID-19 patients. Pandemic response units are opening to provide overflow capacity.
In a statement to CBC News, an Alberta Health Services spokesperson confirmed that a pandemic response unit in Edmonton will be prepared to admit patients by Thursday.
Orientation for staff at the Kaye Edmonton Clinic began Monday, spokesperson Kerry Williamson said.
The unit in Edmonton will open with 18 beds initially, with plans to open another 18 beds, if required, the week of Jan. 31.
"The decision to activate this [pandemic response unit] was made due to capacity volumes facing Edmonton hospitals during the fifth wave of the pandemic," Williamson said in the statement.
In Calgary, a pandemic response unit at the South Health Campus could be activated in the coming weeks, Williamson said.
The test positivity rate across the province is hovering around 37 per cent.