By Canadian Press

‘State of crisis:’ National medical group urges lockdowns in Alberta and Saskatchewan

Sep 29, 2021 | 1:16 PM

CALGARY — The Canadian Medical Association is calling for lockdowns in Alberta and Saskatchewan to protect health-care systems it says are crumbling under pressures caused by COVID-19.

Both western provinces are setting hospitalization records, and intensive care capacity is running slim to none.

Dr. Katharine Smart, president of the national group, is urging the provincial and federal governments to take immediate action.

“This is beyond anything that the health-care system has ever faced in modern times,” Smart said in an phone interview Wednesday. 

“What we’re seeing now is essentially no ability to provide any other acute-care medicine beyond care to people with COVID. So, in essence, the health-care system has already collapsed.”

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The association is calling for short, controlled lockdowns — often called firebreakers or circuit-breakers — that would close schools and non-essential businesses.

It also wants mandatory vaccinations in health-care settings and an increase in the mobility of health workers and intensive care capacity between provinces. 

Smart said Alberta and Saskatchewan — which have COVID-19 mortality rates about three times the national average — are facing the “dire realities” of relaxing public health measures too soon.

“There is a lot of resistance from both political parties to really step up with any significant changes in their public health mitigation strategies,” she said. “We’ve seen lots of sort of tinkering around the edges, but no real commitment to doing something meaningful to change this trajectory.”

Smart added it’s time for “courageous action” and noted that politics must be put to the side to allow for collaboration between levels of government.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has promised to support Alberta should it enter another lockdown. Federal supports for businesses and individuals would be reinstated if that happened, he said Tuesday.

Kenney said the province has been in conversations with Ottawa, the Canadian Armed Forces, other provinces and counterparts in the United States for aid, should it be required.

Smart said that need is now.

Despite the ability for provinces like Alberta to add surge capacity to intensive care units, human resources are finite, she said. Health-care workers are facing “huge amounts” of burnout and psychological trauma, she said.

“People cannot keep doing this indefinitely and the system is already totally overrun and collapsing,” said Smart, who added that patients and health workers are experiencing unfathomable choices.

“What is happening is as heartbreaking as it was preventable. We are now in a situation where it’s all hands on deck to address the state of crisis.”

Alberta has more than 20,000 active cases, dwarfing totals in other provinces, thousands of non-urgent surgeries have been cancelled and doctors are being briefed on how to decide who gets life-saving care when resources run out.

Intensive care capacity was at 84 per cent with surge spaces on Wednesday, said Alberta Health Services in a statement. Without 200 additional spaces created, the provincial capacity would be at 181 per cent. 

There were 313 patients in Alberta ICUs, the majority of whom had COVID-19.

In Saskatchewan, there were 4,734 active cases on Tuesday, a record 311 COVID-19 patients in hospital and, or those, 65 in ICUs.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2021.

Alanna Smith, The Canadian Press