Adam Toy Profile picture
N95-wearing Online Journalist for @GlobalCalgary & https://t.co/FzlBM6rtHN; one half of #TeamAdam w @AdamMacVicar. #YYC story ideas welcome: adam.toy@globalnews.ca

Apr 15, 2022, 19 tweets

Here's your pre-Easter weekend look at #COVID19AB wastewater data.
At the risk of sounding glib, something has risen and it isn't a holy figure... 🧵

Fort Mac #YMM has seen a general upward trend for the past 3 weeks (last data point today)

Grande Prairie looks to be starting a swing upward from an apparent nadir a few weeks ago (last data point Apr 12)

SARS-CoV-2 levels have been bouncing around the capital region (communities around Edmonton) for the last few weeks... will have to wait & see what the latest upward inflection in the moving avg (black line) means
(last data point Apr 13)

However, the trend in #YEG proper is obvious (and would be great if it was a stock's value):
(last data point Apr 13 -- at peak of wave 5 levels(!))

Down the QEII and Red Deer, Olds, Sylvan Lake & Innisfail looks to be in an upward swing (last data point Apr 11)

All of #YYC & surrounding area has been climbing for the past month. I'm going to go out on a limb and call it the 6th wave.
(last data point Apr 13)

Speaking of 6th waves, hello Canmore (last data point today)

Airdrie is in near-uncharted territory (last data point today)

Drumheller, Strathmore, Okotoks all trending up...

Lethbridge continues its downward trend -- well done #yql! (last data point Apr 10)

And in the "forgotten corner" of the province, #MedHat is recreating the river valley in ww graph form (last data point Apr 12)

Also of note, hospitalizations saw a ~6% increase last week & ICUs saw a ~8% increase.
Deaths also saw a w/w increase.
➡️COVID isn't over⬅️

It's a busy part of the calendar...
Today is Vaisakhi & Holy Thursday
Tomorrow is Good Friday and the start of Passover
Sunday is Easter
(And Saturday's a full moon)
...lots of opportunities & invitations to gather (and spread COVID-19), and nary a public health measure in AB.

I understand the impulse to gather for these religious & cultural celebrations, and don't want to diminish their importance.
However, given the circumstances, there's elevated risk in partaking.

Consider that for the 37% of Albertans who got boosters late in 2021, they're likely having their immunity wane around now (a natural process).
And only 76.7% of Albertans have two or more doses of a vaccine.

And even if you get a "milder" Omicron infection (from a variant that's about as infectious as the Measles), AHS estimates 1 in 5 ppl who catch COVID-19 will go on to develop long COVID symptoms.

Fortunately, we've been blessed with the scientific understanding of how to slow the spread of COVID-19 & prevent disease: get vaccinated & boosted, improve ventilation, wear a mask when indoors with people outside your household, and stay home when sick.

P.S. If you're gonna wear a mask, wear the best mask you can afford. A well-fitting respirator of the N95, KN95, PPF3, KF94 standards are your best protection according to aerosol experts, cuz #COVIDisAirborne.

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