Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw will be joined by the president and CEO of Alberta Health Services Dr. Verna Yiu on Thursday to provide an update on COVID-19 in the province.

The fourth wave of COVID-19 continued as over 1,000 patients were hospitalized with the disease and 230 were being treated in ICUs as of Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver sent a letter to federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair asking for help with air transfers if it becomes necessary to move patients out of the province.

Blair responded on social media, saying “federal officials have been engaging their counterparts in Alberta for the past week to offer help."

“I have made it clear that when a request is received, it will be approved. We will work together to provide for the people across Alberta.”

As of Wednesday morning, Alberta Health Services said there were 348 ICU beds open in Alberta and that 41 additional surge spaces had been opened in the past seven days. ICU capacity is at 87 per cent, including the additional surge beds. Without the additional surge spaces, AHS said provincial ICU capacity would be at 174 per cent.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/8212525/alberta-covid-19-hospital-pressure-capacity-help-needed/

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