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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#COVID19AB this week:
Hosp: 1053 (+63 from last week)
ICU: 48 (+4)
Deaths: [an avg of 5/d in the wk of Apr 5-11]
CMOH Hinshaw announces pause of use of monoclonal antibody treatment Sotrovimab, as there are questions of its efficacy vs dominant variant BA.2.
Paxlovid still recommended, for those who are eligible.
2nd boosters now available to eligible ppl (elderly, immunocompromised).
Health Min Copping says RATs to pharmas isn't ending, but compensation for pharmas has changed (story to come).
He says as of Apr 12, 40m RATs were shipped, with 14.9m for individual use.
Just putting this timeline out there... 🧵
On March 30, police were ordered by police commission to removed tbl.
On April 1, the police association distributes tbls in defiance of the commission's order.
Also on April 1, a councillor made comments police took umbrage with.
On April 2, the same councillor has an officer attend a road rage incident & take statements.
On April 5, the police chief quotes the councillor while announcing he would delay implementation of commission's directive for 2 weeks, a "cool down" period.
On April 6, police commission meets with police top brass to begin better communications over the impasse.
At that meeting, the councillor who was also named as a commissioner is absent.
On April 11, the incident involving that councillor is leaked.