“They’ve had a huge wave recently by virtue of the 10 per cent that are not vaccinated plus the other individuals who got their vaccines more than six months ago and have break-through infections,” he explained. Noel Gibey, professor emeritus, department of critical care medicine at the University of Alberta, said it’s critical for the province to watch what’s playing out around the world, in particular northern Europe because their vaccination rate is higher. “We’re in a bit of a plateau but we are still slowly declining.”ĭr. Hinshaw told media she does not anticipate further restrictions in the coming months if people continue to follow the guidelines. “The more of us that participate in the multi layers of protection, the less the chance of a fifth wave that could increase the strain on our health-care system this winter,” she said. Some of those tools include regular hand washing, getting vaccinated, staying home when sick, masking when indoors and avoiding crowded rooms with poor ventilation. Hinshaw said Albertans “have the tools” needed to help mitigate the “aggressive nature” of transmitting COVID-19, in particular the Delta variant. “Transmission increases when we have people who are infectious coming in contact with people who are susceptible to the virus and the greater the number of contacts between people especially in indoor locations,” she explained. Deena Hinshaw said there is a “risk we could see a fifth wave” due to the “seasonality of the virus.”
As temperatures begin to drop and Albertans start heading indoors, the province’s top doctor is reminding people to be vigilant of COVID-19 during the cooler months.