The province is taking extra steps to ease pressure on hospitals.
Premier Jason Kenney, along with health minister Jason Copping, Alberta Health Services CEO Dr. Verna Yiu and public service commissioner Tim Grant provided Thursday’s (Sept.30) COVID-19 update and the steps the province was taking to reduce the pressure on hospitals and slow the spread of the virus.
Due to personal reasons, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, was not in attendance.
Alberta is finalizing a deal to bring in up to 10 ICU-trained staff from the Canadian Armed Forces, which will help staff additional hospital beds, 20 Red Cross staff are being sent to Red Deer, and Newfoundland and Labrador will be sending healthcare workers likely to hospitals in Fort McMurray, according to Premier Kenney.
“We will do whatever it takes to protect Albertans and the healthcare system. The steps taken today will help increase our capacity and keep delivering care provincewide, and every bit helps. Alberta has been there for other provinces throughout COVID-19, and we are grateful for any assistance now,” he said.
The province will be receiving an extra supply of the Johnson and Johnson vaccine, a non-replicating viral vector type vaccine which, according to Kenney, has been requested by people who are hesitant to taking mRNA vaccines such as the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines.
The province is also mandating vaccines for Alberta public service employees. According to Grant, vaccinations or regular COVID-19 testing will be required for approximately 25,000 public service employees. Employees will have until Nov.30 to submit their proof of vaccination.
As of September 29, 2021 the City of Grande Prairie has 507 active cases of COVID-19, and the County of Grande Prairie has 292 cases.
Cases of COVID-19 across the rest of the province sit at 20,255 active cases.
Hospitalizations are currently at 1,083, and a total of 263 Albertans are in intensive care receiving treatment.
As of September 29, 2021:
- 6,067,562 doses administered
- 83.6% of Albertans 12+ with at least 1 dose
- 74.3% of Albertans 12+ fully vaccinated
In Grande Prairie 47% of people eligible are fully vaccinated, and 56% of residents have received at least one dose. In the County of Grande Prairie 46% have received both shots, with 54.5% partially vaccinated.
Information provided by the Government of Alberta/FortSaskOnline