Experts urge extra caution as Omicron cases rise in Alberta
Author of the article: Dylan Short
Publishing date: Dec 18, 2021 •
Sofia Leuchter walks by a store window while Christmas shopping on 11 St. S.W. COVID cases continue to rise in Calgary as Omicron threatens to play the role of Grinch in upcoming holiday celebrations.
PHOTO BY DARREN MAKOWICHUK /Postmedia
Events are starting to be postponed or cancelled in Calgary and forecasters are calling for caution as active COVID-19 cases and Omicron cases appear to be on the rise in Alberta.
Alberta has recorded three straight days of active COVID-19 case increase as Wednesday, Thursday and Friday saw infections rise to 4,430 from 4,016, according to numbers posted on the provincial governments website Wednesday. This past week also saw the number Omicron variant cases rise to 173 on Friday, up from 30 that had been identified at the start of the week.
Tyler Williamson, a biostatistician at the University of Calgary, said the rise was an upturn and implications of the increase are still unknown at this point. He said the blip could be an indicator a plateau that followed a large decrease in cases is over in Alberta given what is happening around Canada in relation to the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.
“The implications of this slight upturn are still uncertain,” said Williamson. “I think we need to be very careful over these next few days. By careful, I think we need to watch things closely and be ready to adjust our activities accordingly.”
Data projections out of British Columbia show Alberta, along with several other provinces, could see exponential growth in cases and hospitalizations due to the Omicron variant, beginning later this month. However, Dean Karlen, one of the forecasters behind the project, said Alberta does not yet have a clear signal in available data for Omicron. Based on what happened in other provinces, he said, Omicron will have an effect on case counts when it becomes dominant.
He said the picture in Alberta should be more clear next week.
Currently, Ontario and Quebec are seeing cases increase significantly as Omicron has taken root in those provinces. Both have implemented new public health measures around social gatherings. Ontario has limited mass gatherings and Quebec has introduced new capacity rules around several types of businesses.
This week Alberta changed rules around indoor gatherings to allow 10 people to get together from any number of households. Previously only 10 people from two households could attend a gathering. Unvaccinated people are also allowed to gather in groups of up to 10. They previously were not allowed to gather at all indoors.
Alberta also began to roll out take home COVID-19 test kits on Friday .
Williamson suggested Alberta should continue to vaccinate as many people as possible and to accelerate the rollout of third doses, and added rapid antigen tests should be used properly.
He also said large events should be approached with caution. Williamson said hard lockdowns also have consequences and decision-makers need be careful as they move forward.
“Personal responsibility needs to be an important part of the dialogue, too,” said Williamson. “However, that is falling on many deaf ears.”
The Calgary Flames are currently facing a COVID-19 outbreak within their locker room as a nearly all of the players have entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol . Several staff members have also tested positive. The team’s games have been postponed until after Christmas.
The Edmonton Oilers have also seen several players enter the protocol while on a road trip and Canada’s World Junior Championship team has cancelled pre-tournament games ahead of the main tournament being hosted in Red Deer and Alberta.
It is not only the sports world struggling with the rising case numbers. Organizers of several events planned over the next few months have begun to pull the plug.
A private shopping spree for children facing severe illness that was set for Sunday was cancelled. A charity country concert that was scheduled for Monday was postponed.
The Calgary International Auto and Truck Show that was scheduled to be held in March was also cancelled.
Organizers of each event signalled COVID-19 trends as reasons for cancelling. Several organizers also cited changing public health measures as another consideration in their decision.
dshort@postmedia.com
Events are starting to be postponed or cancelled in Calgary and forecasters are calling for caution as active COVID-19 cases and Omicron cases appear to be on the rise in Alberta.
Alberta has recorded three straight days of active COVID-19 case increase as Wednesday, Thursday and Friday saw infections rise to 4,430 from 4,016, according to numbers posted on the provincial governments website Wednesday. This past week also saw the number Omicron variant cases rise to 173 on Friday, up from 30 that had been identified at the start of the week.
Tyler Williamson, a biostatistician at the University of Calgary, said the rise was an upturn and implications of the increase are still unknown at this point. He said the blip could be an indicator a plateau that followed a large decrease in cases is over in Alberta given what is happening around Canada in relation to the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.
“The implications of this slight upturn are still uncertain,” said Williamson. “I think we need to be very careful over these next few days. By careful, I think we need to watch things closely and be ready to adjust our activities accordingly.”
Data projections out of British Columbia show Alberta, along with several other provinces, could see exponential growth in cases and hospitalizations due to the Omicron variant, beginning later this month. However, Dean Karlen, one of the forecasters behind the project, said Alberta does not yet have a clear signal in available data for Omicron. Based on what happened in other provinces, he said, Omicron will have an effect on case counts when it becomes dominant.
He said the picture in Alberta should be more clear next week.
Currently, Ontario and Quebec are seeing cases increase significantly as Omicron has taken root in those provinces. Both have implemented new public health measures around social gatherings. Ontario has limited mass gatherings and Quebec has introduced new capacity rules around several types of businesses.
This week Alberta changed rules around indoor gatherings to allow 10 people to get together from any number of households. Previously only 10 people from two households could attend a gathering. Unvaccinated people are also allowed to gather in groups of up to 10. They previously were not allowed to gather at all indoors.
Alberta also began to roll out take home COVID-19 test kits on Friday .
Williamson suggested Alberta should continue to vaccinate as many people as possible and to accelerate the rollout of third doses, and added rapid antigen tests should be used properly.
He also said large events should be approached with caution. Williamson said hard lockdowns also have consequences and decision-makers need be careful as they move forward.
“Personal responsibility needs to be an important part of the dialogue, too,” said Williamson. “However, that is falling on many deaf ears.”
The Calgary Flames are currently facing a COVID-19 outbreak within their locker room as a nearly all of the players have entered the league’s COVID-19 protocol . Several staff members have also tested positive. The team’s games have been postponed until after Christmas.
The Edmonton Oilers have also seen several players enter the protocol while on a road trip and Canada’s World Junior Championship team has cancelled pre-tournament games ahead of the main tournament being hosted in Red Deer and Alberta.
It is not only the sports world struggling with the rising case numbers. Organizers of several events planned over the next few months have begun to pull the plug.
A private shopping spree for children facing severe illness that was set for Sunday was cancelled. A charity country concert that was scheduled for Monday was postponed.
The Calgary International Auto and Truck Show that was scheduled to be held in March was also cancelled.
Organizers of each event signalled COVID-19 trends as reasons for cancelling. Several organizers also cited changing public health measures as another consideration in their decision.
dshort@postmedia.com
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