CALGARY — Less than a week to go before Alberta gets rid of the last of its COVID-19 measures and the province has recorded the highest single-day jump in cases in months.
Alberta identified 501 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the biggest increase since May 28.
The new cases come after the completion of around 8,613 tests — a positivity rate of roughly 5.8 per cent.
There are now 3,769 active cases of COVID-19 in Alberta.
NEW:
– 501 new COVID cases in Alberta on 8613 tests (5.8%+)
– 138 in hospital (+5), incl 31 in ICU (+2)
– 1 new death
– 3769 active cases (+306)#yeg #yyc #ableg #Covid19ab pic.twitter.com/9QZIPMrGpb— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) August 11, 2021
Hospitalizations saw a slight increase over the last day, with 138 people now in hospital, an increase of five from the day prior.
There are now 31 people in the ICU. One additional death was reported on Wednesday.
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As for vaccinations, there were 7,741 doses administered over the last day.
To date, 76.5 per cent of the eligible population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 67.2 per cent are now fully vaccinated.
Amid wide criticism from the medical community, the UCP government still plans to eliminate mandatory isolation periods for people who test positive for the virus as of Monday.
A provincial mask mandate will also lift on Aug. 16, and isolation hotels and quarantine support will no longer be available. Testing will only be available for Albertans with symptoms when it is needed to help direct patient care decisions.
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Dr. Deena Hinshaw has said that cutting out these measures will help public health teams focus on other health crises and specific outbreaks of the delta variant.
In a recent op-ed shared with media, Hinshaw called isolations and testing “extreme” measures that were only needed before millions of Albertans got vaccinated.
She also said that she trusts that Albertans who catch the virus will do the right thing and isolate without a legal requirement to do so.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is urging people to do just that, and isolate if they get sick, to help mitigate the virus’ spread.
Medical officials around the province and even Canada-wide have questioned the move to limit testing and no longer require isolation for people who become sick, but the province has maintained the decision was backed by science.
Canada’s top doc, Theresa Tam, said cutting back public health measures in Alberta could have a ripple effect for the rest of Canada.
Concerned Albertans, doctors, nurses, school groups, and people from at-risk groups have protested for days in both Calgary and Edmonton to try to get the government to change its course.