“Alberta’s healthcare system is under significant stress given the increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in the province, and AHS must prepare for all scenarios,” said Dr. Verna Yu, president and CEO of Alberta Health Services (AHS).

COVID-19 cases continue to grow exponentially. There are 32 cases of COVID-19 in Strathmore and 16 in Wheatland County.

Yu said that AHS is trying to maintain a balance between care for COVID-19 related and non-pandemic related care for patients.

Additional beds and a mobile medical unit could be used for low-acuity patients or vulnerable populations. “These may be patients who are stable and on the road to recovery but are not quite ready to be discharged home,” she said.

Yu revealed that no formal agreements have been made yet, and AHS is looking to create potential partnerships. These mobile units could help reduce demand on the in-hospital acute care beds and teams.

Yu also spoke about the challenge of staffing during the pandemic.

The AHS president said that there is an added focus on increasing the number of contact tracers in the province. She said that AHS has expanded recruitment for healthcare staff and that contact tracing is just one of the means to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

There are now over 900 contact tracers in the province and AHS will double that number to 1,800 by the end of 2020. She says the number is on par or better than other provinces.

The Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw answered questions about the provincial contact tracing app ABTraceTogether app. She explained that the federal app is not a contact tracing app.

She thanked the Albertans who have sent her messages of encouragement this week.

Hinshaw revealed there are 1,828 new cases of COVID-19 in Alberta, and now 18,243 active cases.

There are 533 people in the hospital, 99 in the ICU, and 15 deaths in the past 24 hours.

“This virus can spread quickly from one to many,” Hinshaw said. She stressed the seriousness of the rising case numbers that we are seeing. She reminded people to maintain physical distance and for people to avoid crowds.

She issued a challenge to all Albertans to embrace the restrictions and the spirit of the measures to reduce interactions and resist the urge to socialize. She spoke of connecting with family and friends virtually and staying home.

“We are all in this together and the majority of Albertans working together has the power to change this.”