Elective surgeries cancelled in Calgary, Fort Macleod emergency room closed as COVID-19 surge continues
Alberta Health Services announced late Wednesday afternoon that it's cancelling elective surgeries and many other outpatient procedures for the rest of the week at its Calgary hospitals.
The action comes as a result of a need to reassign staff due to ever more crowded ICUs due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in Alberta.
"This move will allow AHS to deploy qualified staff to support intensive care and critical care beds within the (Calgary) Zone," said AHS spokesperson James Wood in an email to CTV.
"Today, there are 95 ICU beds operating in Calgary," he added, "which is 29 more than our usual total of ICU beds (66)."
Impacted patients will be contacted and their procedures rescheduled to a later date.
"AHS will continue with all urgent and emergent procedures, as well as prioritized cancer surgeries," the statement added.
The announcement came hours after a tweet from AHS South Zone announcing that due to a physician shortage, the Fort MacLeod Medical Centre Emergency Department will be temporarily closed from 8 a.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. Friday.
AHS said a small number of non-prioritized surgeries will be cancelled. The department said it's working closely with oncologists and cancer teams to evaluate every patient's unique situation.
Decisions on other surgery postponements will be made in the coming weeks as the situation evolves.
"As we said last week, this situation is serious," the AHS statement continued, "and we would like to remind all Albertans that we need their help in reducing the transmission of COVID-19 in the community, which in turn will reduce strain on the healthcare system."
AHS said 89 per cent of the 147 patients in the ICU are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Alleged Montreal-area 'Chinese police stations' planning to sue RCMP for $2.5 million
Two Chinese community centres in the Montreal area are planning to launch a $2.5 million defamation lawsuit against the RCMP and the Attorney General of Canada after being accused by the police force of hosting 'alleged Chinese police stations.'
Lawyer in Ali murder trial says 13-year-old B.C. victim was not an 'innocent'
Ibrahim Ali's lawyer says the 13-year-old girl he's accused of murdering in a British Columbia park wasn't the “innocent” depicted in a “rose-coloured” portrayal by the Crown at trial.
'I cry all the time': Nova Scotia couple returns after 40 days in Gaza
It has been five days since Palestinian-Canadian couple, Khalil and Nabila Manna, returned from visiting relatives in Gaza, but while the couple planned to visit for a short-period of time, the Israel-Hamas conflict left them stranded for 40 days
With Canada set to reimpose cap on working hours, international students worry about paying for tuition, living expenses
Canada is set to reimpose the cap on the number of hours that international students can work off campus. But with heightened cost-of-living concerns in Canada, many international students say they're not sure how they'll be able to afford their tuition and living expenses if they can't work full-time.
Inmate stabbed Derek Chauvin 22 times, charged with attempted murder, prosecutors say
A federal inmate was charged Friday with attempted murder in the prison stabbing of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd.
'Jumped over their heads': Kangaroo escapes Ontario zoo during overnight stay
The search for a kangaroo that escaped an Ontario zoo will resume on Saturday morning, according to staff and volunteers.
Mild, rainy winter expected as Canada warms at twice the global rate
Winter will be unusually warm and rainy across much of the country this year, according to the latest data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Here's how Air Canada's new baggage tracking app works
Air Canada is hoping to give its customers more confidence when travelling with checked luggage through a new baggage tracking feature.
Alleged victims speak out after a Waterloo, Ont. man posed as a CSIS agent and scammed women out of millions
Several women have come forward claiming they were victims of a romance scam by a Waterloo, Ont. man. Police believe he allegedly defrauded dozens of women out of more than $2 million over 15 years.