Advertisement 1

COVID-19 Update: 4,740 new cases over three days | Record number in ICU | Businesses want vaccine passports, says survey

Watch this page throughout the day for updates on COVID-19 in Calgary

Article content

With news on COVID-19 happening rapidly, we’ve created this page to bring you our latest stories and information on the outbreak in and around Calgary.


What’s happening now

Article content
Advertisement 2
Story continues below
Article content



Share your COVID-19 stories

As Alberta grapples with a fourth wave of COVID-19 at the start of another school year, we’re looking to hear your stories on this evolving situation.

    • Have you or a loved one had a surgery rescheduled or cancelled in recent weeks?
    • Are you someone who has decided to get vaccinated after previously being skeptical of the vaccines?
    • Have you changed your mind on sending your children back to school in person?
    • Have you enrolled your children in a private school due to COVID-19?
    • Are you a frontline heath care worker seeing new strains on the health system?

Send us your stories via email at reply@calgaryherald.com or by using this online submission forum.


Record-high COVID-19 patients in Alberta ICUs, 4,740 new cases reported over three days

A man walks by a sign requiring people to wear a mask at Bankers Hall in downtown Calgary on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021.
A man walks by a sign requiring people to wear a mask at Bankers Hall in downtown Calgary on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021. Photo by Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia

A record-high number of COVID-19 patients are currently in intensive-care units as Alberta reports more than 4,000 new cases of COVID-19 over the last three days.

Alberta Health Services says they continue to do everything they can to ensure there is enough ICU capacity to meet the increasing demand, as 202 COVID-19 patients require treatment in ICUs across the province by noon Monday.

Advertisement 3
Story continues below
Article content

Read more.

Here are numbers for the past three days:

  • There are now 803 people in hospital, an increase of 117 over three days. There are 198 people in ICU, an increase of 29.
  • Alberta’s ICU caseload is the highest than at any time during the pandemic. Total COVID-19 hospitalizations have soared past the peak of the third wave.
  • There have been 18 deaths reported over three days, bringing the total to 2,462 since the start of the pandemic.
  • Breakdown of new reported cases: 1,659 on Friday; 1,497 on Saturday; 1,584 on Sunday.
  • Cases are also rising quickly in the rural areas. In the South zone, where daily cases were in the single digits in July, cases have averaged 132 a day for the past two weeks. There are outbreaks in seven continuing care facilities as well as the regional hospital in Medicine Hat.
  • There are outbreaks at 15 continuing care facilities in the Calgary AHS zone:



‘No tolerance for intimidation’: Anti-vaccine protesters met by stronger security outside Foothills hospital

Calgary police monitor protesters — both for and against COVID-19 vaccine mandates —outside the Foothills Medical Centre on Monday.
Calgary police monitor protesters — both for and against COVID-19 vaccine mandates —outside the Foothills Medical Centre on Monday. Photo by Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia

Security was strengthened outside Foothills hospital as anti-vaccine protest gathered on Monday afternoon.

Article content
Advertisement 4
Story continues below
Article content

In addition to erecting fences around the exteriors of Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary and Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, AHS said they are working with local police services and their own protective services to protect patients, physicians and staff.

About 200 protesters showed up to rally outside Foothills Hospital on Monday afternoon, part of a number of demonstrations across the country. A handful of anti-fascist counter-protesters were there with speakers to drown out the anti-vaccine protesters.

Scuffles occurred between the protesters and counter-protesters — who wore all black — and two counter-protesters were removed by police officers.

Read more.

Advertisement 5
Story continues below
Article content

Singh and Trudeau promise to crack down on demonstrations outside hospitals

People gather outside the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary to protest vaccine mandates on Monday.
People gather outside the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary to protest vaccine mandates on Monday. Photo by Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia

The federal New Democrats and Liberals made mirror pledges on Monday to criminalize protesters that block hospitals or harass health-care workers as party leaders denounced planned demonstrations at hospitals countrywide.

A group calling itself Canadian Frontline Nurses has planned “silent vigils” in response to public health restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19, which they say are “tyrannical measures and government overreach.” The group held a protest today outside Foothills hospital in Calgary.

Speaking in Vancouver, Trudeau said the Criminal Code already has provisions about intimidating people who work in the justice system, but there is now a need to protect doctors and nurses in a similar way.

“It’s not OK any day to know that a nurse going into a late shift crossing a parking lot might be afraid that there could be someone there to spit on her or shout obscenities at her,” Trudeau said in his opening remarks.

Read more.


Top scientists say COVID vaccine boosters not needed for general population

“Current evidence does not, therefore, appear to show a need for boosting in the general population, in which efficacy against severe disease remains high,” the scientists wrote.
“Current evidence does not, therefore, appear to show a need for boosting in the general population, in which efficacy against severe disease remains high,” the scientists wrote. Photo by Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images
Advertisement 6
Story continues below
Article content

Additional COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are not needed for the general population, leading scientists including two departing senior U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials and several from the World Health Organization (WHO) said in an article published in a medical journal on Monday.

The scientists said more evidence was needed to justify boosters. That view disagrees with U.S. government plans to begin offering another round of shots to many fully vaccinated Americans as soon as next week, contingent on approval from health regulators.

Read more.


Most Alberta businesses support vaccine passports, survey finds

An advertisement promotes COVID-19 vaccinations on a digital billboard outside Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.
An advertisement promotes COVID-19 vaccinations on a digital billboard outside Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. Photo by David Bloom /Postmedia

The majority of businesses in Alberta’s two largest cities support a COVID-19 vaccine passport system in order to avoid further closures, according to a new survey.

In a Leger survey released Monday morning, 70 per cent of respondents representing members of the Edmonton and Calgary chambers of commerce said they support proof of vaccination policies to access certain businesses and services. Out of 1,000 independent citizens polled, 74 per cent responded in support for a vaccine mandate.

Advertisement 7
Story continues below
Article content

Edmonton Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Jeffrey Sundquist said the chambers are calling on the province to implement a mandatory vaccination policy in support of the businesses they represent who don’t want to be forced to close again amid a rising fourth wave of the virus.

Read more.


Six pregnant women in Alberta ICUs last month due to COVID-19 were unvaccinated: AHS

A pregnant woman receives a COVID-19 vaccination at a pharmacy in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 11, 2021.
A pregnant woman receives a COVID-19 vaccination at a pharmacy in Schwenksville, Pennsylvania, on Feb. 11, 2021. Photo by REUTERS/Hannah Beier/File

Six women placed in ICU due to COVID-19 last month were pregnant, says Alberta Health Services, urging all expecting and new moms to immediately get fully vaccinated.

“COVID-19, particularly the Delta variant, is highly infectious and pregnant individuals are at a higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19. Immunization is the best way to protect mother and child,” reads a Monday statement from AHS.

All six Alberta women admitted in August to ICU due to COVID-19 were not vaccinated, and five of them gave birth early.

Read more.

Also see: More pregnant Albertans landing in ICU with COVID-19


Advertisement 8
Story continues below
Article content

Day surgeries in Edmonton cancelled, only priority cancer, urgent and emergent surgeries being done: AHS

The Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton.
The Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton. Photo by Greg Southam/Postmedia

All day surgeries in the Edmonton AHS zone have been postponed this week as Alberta continues to deal with an increase in COVID-19 cases across the province during the fourth wave of the pandemic.

In a statement early Monday, Alberta Health Services spokesperson Kerry Williamson said hospitals would only be providing priority cancer, urgent and emergent surgeries, meaning up to 70 per cent of surgeries would be affected.

The move was made “in order to have sufficient ICU and inpatient capacity to manage the increased COVID activity across the zone and the province,” he said.

Read more.


Students and staff must be fully vaccinated for U of C, Mount Royal and SAIT

University of Calgary main entrance on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021.
University of Calgary main entrance on Monday, Aug. 9, 2021. Photo by Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia

On Monday morning, University of Calgary, Mount Royal University and SAIT announced that all students, staff and visitors will need to be fully vaccinated to attend campus. 

Rapid testing will no longer be accepted as an alternative to vaccination, except for campus community members who cannot be vaccinated based on medical or other protected grounds outlined in the Alberta Human Rights Act.

Advertisement 9
Story continues below
Article content

Implementation dates and details for these new measures will vary from school to school according to specific needs and policies.


Lawyer wants jail time for pastor who flouted COVID restrictions

Artur Pawlowski speaks to members of Calgary’s Street Church during a protest at Olympic Plaza on Sunday, April 4, 2021.
Artur Pawlowski speaks to members of Calgary’s Street Church during a protest at Olympic Plaza on Sunday, April 4, 2021. Photo by Brendan Miller/Postmedia

Rebel pastor Artur Pawlowski should be jailed for 21 days for his contempt of a court order that he comply with COVID-19 public health conditions, a lawyer for Alberta Health Services said Monday.

That breach of the court order from last May should also land his brother Dawid Pawlowski in jail for 10 days, argued AHS lawyer John Siddons, who said the pair could have easily complied with the injunction.

Artur Pawlowski was also found guilty of contempt when he refused an AHS employee access to his church on April 24, leading to the civil action brought by AHS.

Read more.


Experts skeptical of direct impact from Alberta’s $100 COVID-19 vaccine incentive

Premier Jason Kenney removes his mask prior to announcing the province’s new COVID measures at McDougall Centre in Calgary on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021.
Premier Jason Kenney removes his mask prior to announcing the province’s new COVID measures at McDougall Centre in Calgary on Friday, Sept. 3, 2021. Photo by Azin Ghaffari /Postmedia, file

Experts are skeptical Alberta’s $100 vaccine incentive will have a big impact on the province’s immunization rates, with one public health leader calling the move “worthless.”

On Sept. 3, amid stagnant vaccination rates, Premier Jason Kenney announced anyone who gets a first or second dose of COVID-19 vaccine until Oct. 14 will be eligible to receive a $100 pre-loaded debit card.

Advertisement 10
Story continues below
Article content

Alberta Health has said those Albertans can begin registering for their debit cards online or by phone Monday. The latest provincial numbers show there have been slight bumps in the number of total vaccines administered in some days following the announcement, but experts say it’s difficult to attribute them to the incentive, which they say likely won’t have a huge impact.

Read more.


B.C. COVID-19 vaccine card system takes effect, one dose required in many settings

A masked server clears a table on a patio at a restaurant in Vancouver on April 2, 2021.
A masked server clears a table on a patio at a restaurant in Vancouver on April 2, 2021. Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

British Columbia’s COVID-19 vaccine card system is now in effect as the province aims to curtail cases and hospitalizations in the fourth wave of the pandemic.

Anyone who wants to access a range of non-essential indoor settings must show proof of at least one dose of vaccine, with a second shot required by Oct. 24.

The digital or paper vaccine card is required at settings such as ticketed sports events, concerts, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, casinos, gyms and movie theatres.

Read more. 


Sunday

Alberta faces growing risk of activating critical-care triage protocol during COVID-19 fourth wave, doctors say

A view of Rockyview Hospital emergency entrance on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021.
A view of Rockyview Hospital emergency entrance on Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2021. Photo by Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia
Advertisement 11
Story continues below
Article content

Alberta currently faces a greater risk than ever of having to triage care for critical-care patients, according to the doctor at the head of the Alberta Medical Association’s section of emergency medicine.

Dr. Paul Parks said staffing strains in Alberta intensive-care units coupled with a surging fourth wave of COVID-19 infections mean there is a growing possibility the province will have to activate its Critical Care Triage Framework.

“I think we’re coming closer to it than we ever have come to it,” said Parks, who is also an emergency physician.

“We don’t want to fear-monger. We don’t want to engage in these difficult conversations if there’s never going to be a need for it, if it’s all theoretical. But I think the reason it’s coming up more now is there are more critical-care physicians and ICU physicians who are really worried this could become a possibility.”

Read more.


Sunday

Approximately 1,500 attend Calgary rally against vaccine mandates

Hundreds came out for the Frontline for Freedom rally and walk at Olympic Plaza in Calgary on Sunday, September 12, 2021.
Hundreds came out for the Frontline for Freedom rally and walk at Olympic Plaza in Calgary on Sunday, September 12, 2021. Photo by Darren Makowichuk/Postmedia

An estimated 1,500 people attended a rally in downtown Calgary Sunday afternoon in opposition to COVID-19 vaccine mandates, including those announced by the City of Calgary and Alberta Health Services in recent weeks.

Advertisement 12
Story continues below
Article content

Organizers called the demonstration the “Frontline for Freedom” rally, saying attendees were standing with firefighters, health-care workers, police and other front-line workers.

Attendees met at City Hall, where several people gave speeches before demonstrators completed a short march through downtown.

Read more.


Saturday

Alberta hospitality leaders contemplate proof-of-vaccine mandate

Sol Zia, Executive Director of Calgary Hotels Association, says members of his industry organization may move to implement their own vaccine mandate for customers.
Sol Zia, Executive Director of Calgary Hotels Association, says members of his industry organization may move to implement their own vaccine mandate for customers. Jim Wells/Postmedia

A coalition of organizations representing Alberta’s hospitality industry is considering implementing its own mandate for proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in absence of a provincial policy.

The groups have been discussing paths forward this week as the United Conservative government reiterates it will leave decisions on vaccine passports in the hands of businesses and will not impose such a policy itself.

“We collectively are very frustrated by the government’s lack of movement on a mandate for proof of vaccination for venues and facilities,” said Sol Zia, president of the Calgary Hotel Association.

“We’re collecting data and we’re at the point where a number of associations across the province might move to implement our own mandate.”

Advertisement 13
Story continues below
Article content

Read more.


Saturday

Alberta doctor says rapid COVID-19 tests could be used in place of class quarantines

A girl performs a coronavirus (COVID-19) rapid antigen test in a primary school, as Austrian schools open for pupils after summer holidays, in Vienna, Austria, September 6, 2021.
A girl performs a coronavirus (COVID-19) rapid antigen test in a primary school, as Austrian schools open for pupils after summer holidays, in Vienna, Austria, September 6, 2021. Photo by LEONHARD FOEGER /REUTERS

An Alberta doctor says rapid COVID-19 testing in schools could be used to prevent the spread of the virus while avoiding the disruption of class-wide quarantines.

Dr. Leyla Asadi, an infectious disease physician currently working on her PhD at the University of Alberta, believes rapid testing would be a good middle ground between having no quarantines and full-class quarantines.

She said last school year, most public schools were doing full-class quarantines when a lone student in the cohort tested positive, but this year there are no quarantines happening at all which, she said, ignores what we know about how the virus spreads.

“The presymptomatic and early symptomatic phase is when the majority of transmissions happen,” she said. “If you really want to be blocking chains of transmission — catching people early and preventing them from spreading it on to others — rapid tests can be very helpful because you can do them more frequently.”

Read more.


Saturday

Concerns raised over vaccine appointment availability

Advertisement 14
Story continues below
Article content

A Calgary-area woman is raising concerns over the difficulty of booking COVID-19 vaccine appointments after she attempted to help unvaccinated friends and family this past week.

Diane Robbins has been fully vaccinated for months. However, she said she has run into issues trying to get doses for people close to her who want to get their shots.

Robbins said she spent time this past week calling around to local big box store pharmacies at Safeway, Shoppers Drug Mart and Costco, only to be told there are no appointments and she would have to try again another day. She then called 811, where she said she received little help.

“I don’t know how bad everything is, but I know Calgary has been bad this week for getting appointments,” said Robbins. “I’m really disappointed. Everybody is. But this could have been certainly managed far better than it is.”

Read more.

Article content
Comments
You must be logged in to join the discussion or read more comments.
Join the Conversation

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information.

Latest National Stories
    This Week in Flyers