#COVID19AB this past fortnight (to May 17; technical delays prevented last week's release):
Hosp: 467 (-15)
ICU: 18 (-3)
New deaths: 13 (5733 total)
7d avg positivity (on restricted PCR tests): 8.26% (-0.55)
Hospitalizations have (mostly) plateaued for the past 2 months.
We may be on the verge of having a new dominant subvariant: XBB.1.16 (aka Arcturus; in pink)
On the week of April 9, it was 5.7% of genetically-sequenced PCR tests.
Wk of April 16: 5.5%
Wk of April 23: 14.4%
(con'd)
Prelim results* for Wk of April 30: 22.7%
The next-closest subvariant for these prelim results is XBB.1.5 (aka Kraken; in green) with 21.6%.
No other subvariant has the same predominance.
(con'd)
*preliminary as AHS usually tests ~250 samples per week, but reporting for wk of Apr 30 shows 88 samples. A fuller picture will be available next week.
Like the subvariants that preceded it, it's more able to spread among people.
Many more Albertans are waking up to the smell of wildfire smoke and air quality statements this morning. Even #YYC’s AQHI is expected to go to 6 (moderate risk) today: weather.gc.ca/airquality/pag…
A well-fitted N95 respirator can be effective to filter out the smoke (as well as 🦠).
Portable HEPA filters can also be effective in filtering out 💨&🦠 within a space.
They can be put together with furnace filters and a box fan for relatively low cost; search online for Corsi-Rosenthal box plans.
On a clear day, you can usually see downtown #YYC behind me. Not today.
#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.