Calgary hospital dealing with COVID-19 delta variant outbreaks on 2 units
Sixteen patients and four health care workers at the Foothills Medical Centre (FMC) in Calgary have tested positive for the B.1.617.2 COVID-19 variant, otherwise known as the delta variant that was first identified in India.
Two units are experiencing an outbreak of the delta variant, Alberta Health Services (AHS) said in a statement, and teams are working to identify the source of infection.
"Management and caregivers on the affected units have been instructed to exercise extra vigilance with respect to PPE and fit-for-work screening," reads the AHS statement.
The hospital has experienced several outbreaks on different units over the course of the pandemic. This is the first outbreak that has involved the delta strain of the virus.
"This one definitely feels different," said Cameron Westhead with United Nurses of Alberta.
"Primarily because we know that one dose of the vaccination isn't very effective at this delta variant and a lot of our members don't yet have second doses."
The hospital remains open and has capacity to treat all patients, though AHS said the two units affected by the delta variant are not accepting admissions. Patient transfers to long-term care centres from the two units with the delta variant are also on hold.
AHS said it had not recorded any new cases at one of the outbreaks since May 20. At the other, no new symptomatic people had been observed on Tuesday morning.
"Temporarily restricting admissions to the units reduces the patient population on the affected units and allows for greater distancing and less sharing of high-contact spaces such as bathrooms," AHS said.
According to Alberta Health, a first dose of an mRNA vaccine — like Pfizer and Moderna— offers 73 per cent protection against the alpha variant. That immunity is boosted to 91 per cent with a second dose.
But against the delta strain, one dose only offers 33 per cent protection, and two doses 88 per cent protection.
AHS says it has inpatient immunization clinics happening at Foothills for patients and staff.
"Just when people are ready for summer and the provincial government is really pushing its reopen for summer plan, it seems like maybe people are letting their guard down and celebrating a bit too soon," Westhead said.
The B.1.617.2 variant was first confirmed in Alberta on April 8. Since then, the province has recorded 193 cases of the strain, 163 of those have been in the Calgary Zone.
With files from CTV Edmonton's Amanda Anderson and Alex Antoneshyn
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.