As Omicron wave declines, COVID-19 spread remains high in parts of rural Alberta
Jason Herring - Yesterday
© Provided by Calgary Herald
Dr. Jon Meddings, Dean of the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, on Wednesday, May 22, 2019.
Wastewater and active case data show COVID-19 spread is on the downslope in Calgary and Edmonton.
But it’s a different story in parts of rural Alberta, where infections continue to surge as the province moves to ditch public health measures.
The best indicator of community transmission of the virus currently available in Alberta is wastewater data, according to Dr. Jon Meddings, Dean of the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary.
He said Alberta’s two big cities, as well as other communities including Banff, saw virus spread peak in early January. Medium-sized cities such as Lethbridge and Red Deer saw a peak around the end of January, while rural municipalities such as Lacombe continue to see an increase in virus spread.
That’s not surprising, Meddings said, as the ultra-contagious Omicron variant likely entered Alberta first through Calgary and Edmonton, both of which are home to international airports.
“To me, the pattern is that this is coming from the largest centres. It reached the peak there in early January, and two or three weeks later that peak is in the smaller rural centres, and some of them are still going through it. This is unsurprising,” Meddings said.
Meddings also said wastewater data indicate the Omicron wave is declining more slowly than it took to climb in Calgary and Edmonton.
© Provided by Calgary Herald
Wastewater and active case data show COVID-19 spread is on the downslope in Calgary and Edmonton.
But it’s a different story in parts of rural Alberta, where infections continue to surge as the province moves to ditch public health measures.
The best indicator of community transmission of the virus currently available in Alberta is wastewater data, according to Dr. Jon Meddings, Dean of the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary.
He said Alberta’s two big cities, as well as other communities including Banff, saw virus spread peak in early January. Medium-sized cities such as Lethbridge and Red Deer saw a peak around the end of January, while rural municipalities such as Lacombe continue to see an increase in virus spread.
That’s not surprising, Meddings said, as the ultra-contagious Omicron variant likely entered Alberta first through Calgary and Edmonton, both of which are home to international airports.
“To me, the pattern is that this is coming from the largest centres. It reached the peak there in early January, and two or three weeks later that peak is in the smaller rural centres, and some of them are still going through it. This is unsurprising,” Meddings said.
Meddings also said wastewater data indicate the Omicron wave is declining more slowly than it took to climb in Calgary and Edmonton.
© Provided by Calgary Herald
As Omicron wave declines, COVID-19 spread remains high in parts of rural Alberta
Though Alberta’s official case counts have become less reliable during the fifth wave amid limited access to PCR testing, active case data also reflect a surge in infections in rural areas even as urban hubs pass their peak.
Active case counts increased in most rural municipalities since mid-January, near the Omicron wave’s peak, while decreasing in Calgary, Edmonton and those cities’ bedroom communities. Currently, case rates are highest in Vulcan County and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, where more than one in 50 residents have active, lab-confirmed COVID-19 infections.
Despite the regional variance, Alberta is moving to scrap COVID-19 restrictions in all parts of the province at the same time, with Alberta’s vaccine passport already cancelled and nearly all remaining restrictions to be removed March 1, as long as hospitalization rates from the virus are declining.
High River physician Dr. Adam Vyse said his community, like elsewhere in Alberta, saw far higher infection rates and patients in ER in recent weeks due to Omicron than in previous waves.
“With that being said, my sense is we haven’t had any significant burden of people getting sick and needing hospitalizations,” Vyse said, adding he believes the High River area is past the peak for this wave.
© Azin Ghaffari
Though Alberta’s official case counts have become less reliable during the fifth wave amid limited access to PCR testing, active case data also reflect a surge in infections in rural areas even as urban hubs pass their peak.
Active case counts increased in most rural municipalities since mid-January, near the Omicron wave’s peak, while decreasing in Calgary, Edmonton and those cities’ bedroom communities. Currently, case rates are highest in Vulcan County and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, where more than one in 50 residents have active, lab-confirmed COVID-19 infections.
Despite the regional variance, Alberta is moving to scrap COVID-19 restrictions in all parts of the province at the same time, with Alberta’s vaccine passport already cancelled and nearly all remaining restrictions to be removed March 1, as long as hospitalization rates from the virus are declining.
High River physician Dr. Adam Vyse said his community, like elsewhere in Alberta, saw far higher infection rates and patients in ER in recent weeks due to Omicron than in previous waves.
“With that being said, my sense is we haven’t had any significant burden of people getting sick and needing hospitalizations,” Vyse said, adding he believes the High River area is past the peak for this wave.
© Azin Ghaffari
Dr. Adam Vyse poses for a photo in Highwood Health Centre in High River on March 10, 2021.
Vyse said members of his community have done their part by getting immunized against COVID-19 and following public health measures. He said he believes residents are ready to leave behind measures such as the vaccine passport, a decision he also agrees with.
“Vaccination has an impact on serious disease, hospitalization and ICU, but we’re not preventing transmission by excluding non-vaccinated people from restaurants and bars and hampering businesses,” he said.
Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams said rural businesses have broadly had a more difficult time navigating policies such as the vaccine passport than their urban counterparts, as business owners worry about alienating customers.
But she stressed rural Alberta isn’t a monolith, with a wide range of opinions and behaviours.
“I think there are a lot of people in rural Alberta who have concerns about (the removal of public health measures),” Williams said. “But there are lots of people in rural Alberta who are also annoyed about their restrictions, who feel their freedoms are being limited.”
jherring@postmedia.com
Twitter: @jasonfherring
Vyse said members of his community have done their part by getting immunized against COVID-19 and following public health measures. He said he believes residents are ready to leave behind measures such as the vaccine passport, a decision he also agrees with.
“Vaccination has an impact on serious disease, hospitalization and ICU, but we’re not preventing transmission by excluding non-vaccinated people from restaurants and bars and hampering businesses,” he said.
Mount Royal University political scientist Lori Williams said rural businesses have broadly had a more difficult time navigating policies such as the vaccine passport than their urban counterparts, as business owners worry about alienating customers.
But she stressed rural Alberta isn’t a monolith, with a wide range of opinions and behaviours.
“I think there are a lot of people in rural Alberta who have concerns about (the removal of public health measures),” Williams said. “But there are lots of people in rural Alberta who are also annoyed about their restrictions, who feel their freedoms are being limited.”
jherring@postmedia.com
Twitter: @jasonfherring
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