Thread by @globeandmail

When Premier @jkenney announced earlier this year that Alberta would get rid of virtually every COVID-19 public health restriction, he declared that the province was about to have the “best summer ever.”

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But last Wednesday, amid soaring infections, @jkenney apologized and reversed course on COVID-19 restrictions and brought in a vaccine passport system.

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Kenney declared a public health emergency, new restrictions to get COVID-19 under control and a vaccine passport. Those measures arrive as ICUs are filling up so quickly that health-care workers are preparing for the possibility of having to ration care.

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Alberta bureau chief @byjameskeller joins #TheDecibel to discuss how the province ended up in the situation once again, what’s different and who is being blamed.

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What is Alberta’s COVID-19 situation now?

🔊 @byjameskeller: Infections are rising – but the real focus is hospitalizations, which are worse than previous waves.

“What it means [...] is that most of the health-care system, except for emergency, procedures is shutting down.”

🔊 @byjameskeller: Cancer and transplant surgeries, heart procedures have been postponed. These are “major life-changing surgeries Albertans don't have access to because the healthcare system [...] needs to start freeing up resources for COVID patients.”

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Who is being blamed for this crisis in Alberta?

🔊 @byjameskeller: “The political opposition and public health experts are putting the blame solely on Jason Kenney and his policies.”

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🔊 @byjameskeller: Even his public health officer last week acknowledged that lifting restriction and treating COVID-19 like any other respiratory illness. “That set the stage for this massive surge that we haven't seen in most other provinces.”

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