Alberta reports second highest number of COVID-related deaths in a single day

A 60-year-old COVID-19 patient fights for his life, desperately gasping for air as head intensivist Dr. Ali Ghafouri provides life saving medical care in an emergency situation in the intensive care unit at the Humber River Hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto on Tuesday, April 13, 2021. The patient was intubated and put on a ventilator successfully. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

CALGARY — Alberta has seen another devastating 24-hour period when it comes to the most severe outcomes from COVID-19.

The province reported 34 deaths on Wednesday. It’s the second-highest death tally the province has seen since the pandemic began and shows just how crippling the fourth wave has become in the province.

The lives lost over the last day range from a pair of men in their 40s, up to several Albertans who were in their 90s.

To date, nearly 2,700 Albertans have died from COVID-19.

Meanwhile, hospitalization numbers saw a slight decline over the last day.

There are now 1,084 people in hospital, 268 of which are in the ICU. Of those currently in the ICU with COVID-19, 232 are unvaccinated, or about 87 per cent.

The situation within Alberta hospitals continues to raise alarms, as 74 per cent of those in Alberta’s ICU have COVID-19.

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ICU capacity in the province is now at 84 per cent, but without the added surge capacity, it would be at 181 per cent.

ICU capacity in Alberta is as follows:

• In Calgary Zone, there are 137 ICU beds, including 71 additional spaces. Calgary Zone ICU is operating at 79 per cent of current capacity.
• In Edmonton Zone, there are 158 ICU beds, including 86 additional spaces. Edmonton Zone is operating at 87 per cent of current capacity.
• In Central Zone, there are 27 ICU beds, including 15 additional spaces.  Central Zone ICU is operating at 87 per cent of current capacity.
• In South Zone, there are 36 ICU beds, including 19 additional ICU spaces. South Zone ICU is currently operating at 81 per cent capacity.
• In North Zone, there are 15 ICU spaces (split between Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray), including nine additional ICU spaces. North Zone is currently operating at 104 per cent capacity.

Since Sept. 1, hospitalization numbers in Alberta have increased 133 per cent, with ICU admissions up 150 per cent.

As for new infections in Alberta, the province reported 1,682 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday.

The new cases come after more than 15,000 tests were completed for a positivity rate of around 11.2 per cent.

As for vaccination numbers in the province, nearly 6.05 million doses have been administered to date, with more than 15,600 vaccine doses being administered over the last day.

Of the eligible population in Alberta, 83.4 per cent now have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 74.2 per cent are fully immunized.