The province today released several updates related to COVID-19, including the removal of restrictions, new data and how data will be presented in the future.
According to the latest COVID-19 data released Wednesday afternoon, there is a slight increase in hospitalizations and a small increase in positive test results across Alberta.
Over the past week, 20 new deaths were reported, bringing the total number of deaths in the province so far to 4,652. There were 559 people admitted to the hospital, 23 of whom landed in the ICU.
However, almost a quarter of all tests were positive. As of July 18, the province’s positivity rate was 22.41 percent.
Read more: Frequent code reds, high ambulance stress levels in Edmonton region: AHS data
Changes in data reporting
At a press conference Wednesday, Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said changes will be made to the province’s data reporting going forward.
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Starting Wednesday, July 20, the province will add new charts that will show the number of hospitalized people who are there for indirect and/or direct causes related to COVID.
It will also continue to provide the hospitalization rate for primary and secondary reasons for hospitalization in relation to COVID-19.
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This will provide a better opportunity to show the specific severity of COVID over time, Hinshaw said.
Read more: Behind the COVID curtain: Previously confidential Alberta government documents made public
It will focus more on showing where current outbreaks are by location, how different risk locations change over time, and how transmission of the virus moves through these high-risk locations.
Omicron becoming the leading strain of COVID changes a lot about how and what data should be looked at. The province, Hinshaw said, is moving toward a “more sustainable” model of case reporting.
Dr. Hinshaw said that as Alberta enters the transition phase between pandemic and endemic, the province will “continue to do geographic metrics to help Albertans understand the risk of local transmission.”
Alberta Health Services lifts restrictions on visits to acute care facilities
AHS announced in a press release Wednesday that “visiting restrictions at acute care, ambulatory care, urgent care and emergency care sites have been lifted.”
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There are no longer limits on “the number of support appointees and visitors allowed per patient,” the statement said.
Although these restrictions have been lifted, AHS reminds everyone that some skilled care units may set their own limitations for the safety of vulnerable patients.
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