[DrCaleb]

bootlegga bootlegga:

Rumour has it that the long game is to privatize testing so UCP donors and buddies can profit (you know same old, same old).

FYI, recently appointed AHS Board member Jack Mintz also sits on the board of Rapid, Test Trace. Of course, the company has scrubbed his image (as well as most other board members) from the page.

But testing is already privatized. Dynalife does all medical testing in Alberta. They even cancelled a new public facility when they were first elected, so that testing could remain privatized.

Do they want the public to pay for the tests? Rapid testing only costs about $20. It's the PCR tests that are a couple hundred each.

[bootlegga]

Thanos Thanos:

Operation Backtrack Part Cinq/Six/Sept/Huit/I lost count - Electric Boogaloo to be announced tomorrow as worst-governed province in all of Canada has to retreat (once again) on ending COVID restrictions:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ ... -1.6139605

$1:

Alberta is rowing back on plans to end COVID-19 protocols including isolation requirements, asymptomatic testing and contact tracing by Aug. 16, a government source told CBC News.

The province's health guidelines will remain in place for now, the source said. The changes scheduled for Aug. 31 are still on track, the source said.

Alberta public health officials reported 550 net new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the second day in a row that the daily case count surpassed the 500 mark.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, is scheduled to speak along with Adriana LaGrange, Alberta's minister of education, on Friday morning. She is expected to announce the changes during that news conference, according to the source.

Sigh. This is life in our one-party state. Probably gonna be this way forever here too. They're simply incompetent assholes who don't have the slightest idea what they're doing.

Like everyone didn't call this weeks ago:

$1:

After closely monitoring COVID-19 in Alberta for the previous two weeks and reviewing emerging evidence from other jurisdictions, the following will continue until Sept.27:

- Mandatory masking orders in publicly accessible transit, taxis and ride-shares.
- Mandatory isolation for 10 days for those with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test result.
- Testing at assessment centres for any symptomatic individual.

These measures were scheduled to be eased on Aug. 16, however this six-week pause will provide additional time to monitor severe outcomes of COVID-19 and increase immunization rates.

https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID= ... 9005F154C9

Calling them incompetent is an insult to incompetent people.

[bootlegga]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

bootlegga bootlegga:

Rumour has it that the long game is to privatize testing so UCP donors and buddies can profit (you know same old, same old).

FYI, recently appointed AHS Board member Jack Mintz also sits on the board of Rapid, Test Trace. Of course, the company has scrubbed his image (as well as most other board members) from the page.

But testing is already privatized. Dynalife does all medical testing in Alberta. They even cancelled a new public facility when they were first elected, so that testing could remain privatized.

Do they want the public to pay for the tests? Rapid testing only costs about $20. It's the PCR tests that are a couple hundred each.

The COVID tests for travel are $150, and you can get them at Shoppers and tons of places, but my guess is they want the public to eventually pay that $20 for tests, instead of the government.

Gotta cut that massive deficit dontcha know?

If it makes some of their friends wealthy at the same time, bonus!

[llama66]

Kenney is such a slimey piece of shit. Kenney and his ilk are why I'll never vote Conservative

[DrCaleb]

$1:

ER doctors express 'confusion and alarm' over Alberta Health Services' position on bed closures


Emergency medicine doctors have written a letter to the CEO of Alberta Health Services calling for immediate action to address overwhelmed and understaffed emergency rooms.

The letter, sent Friday and signed by a dozen ER doctors including the president of the Alberta Medical Association's section of emergency medicine, expresses "confusion and alarm" in response to how AHS has characterized the state of Alberta's emergency rooms.

AMA's section of emergency medicine represents 450 ER doctors across Alberta.

ER access 'continues to worsen,' doctors say

Last month, AHS CEO Dr. Verna Yiu wrote in an op-ed for Postmedia that "there is no bed shortage in Alberta."

Yiu wrote that if a patient needs a bed, one will always be available. She attributed bed reductions to staff absences, due to vacations or other reasons, and routine summer closures.

The ER doctors accused Yiu of downplaying the significance of bed closures and staffing issues.

"Many of us are very concerned that AHS has misinterpreted its own data … to avoid any further confusion or disconnect between AHS leadership and those providing clinical care in our overflowing [emergency departments], allow me to state very clearly that [emergency department access block] is currently severe and continues to worsen with each passing day," the letter reads.

The doctors listed a variety of reasons contributing to the issues with access:

Deferred care throughout the pandemic, meaning patients are now showing up with later-stages of illness.
Increased mental health issues.
Increased EMS volumes and staffing shortages.
Lowered access to primary care, pushing patients to ERs.
Increased isolation demands, needs for PPE and other issues related to the pandemic.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ ... -1.6149701

[DrCaleb]

Alberta won't enact legislation to recognize federal Truth and Reconciliation holiday

[DrCaleb]

Albertans received most COVID supports, province leaving millions on the table: report

[herbie]

Friends left to visit their kids in Alberta today. Said they were going now because they'd probably close the border to Alberta again if things keep getting worse.
The son spent 3 weeks in ICU with Covid earlier this year.

[DrCaleb]

Edmonton mask mandate for indoor, public places to be reinstated Friday

[DrCaleb]

UCP caucus chair denies advocating for COVID case spike in Alberta's unvaccinated

We fucking HEARD you!

[DrCaleb]

Wasn't sure about putting these in the Covid thread or here.

I think this is more about Alberta Politics, than Covid.

Alberta reports 3,056 new COVID-19 cases over 3 days, 7 additional deaths

'This is not normal,' Edmonton doctor says as hospitals fill up with unvaccinated patients

And we only know this, because:

$1:

Advocacy group starts COVID-19 briefings to 'fill the void' left by Alberta government officials

A group called ProtectOurProvince Alberta launched a series of COVID-19 briefings Monday to "fill the void" left by the provincial government, which hasn't held any pandemic briefings for weeks as case counts and hospitalizations have surged.

ProtectOurProvince describes itself as a grassroots coalition of physicians, scientists and citizen advocates. It was formed in July in reaction to the scaling down of Alberta's COVID-19 protection measures.

The last time Alberta Premier Jason Kenney addressed Albertans was on Aug. 9 at a conference to announce the expansion of an Edmonton brewery that promised to create 25 jobs.

His office said last Thursday that he had been on vacation for two weeks, but he was "still able to fully communicate with his cabinet and senior officials as required" and has "participated in numerous briefings on important subjects — including on COVID-19." The statement said Kenney would be back at work this week.

Alberta's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, meanwhile, hasn't spoken publicly since Aug. 13, when she delayed the province's plans to lift testing, tracing and isolation measures until at least Sept. 27.

Giving Albertans info they need

"We're trying to give Albertans some of the information they need to make safe decisions, and hopefully even give some of the leaders the information they need to make safe decisions," said Dr. Joe Vipond, an emergency room physician at Rockyview General Hospital in Calgary, who has been outspoken against the government's COVID-19 response.

On July 29, the Alberta government loosened its rules so that quarantine for close contacts of COVID-infected people was no longer mandatory, contact tracers no longer notify close contacts, and asymptomatic testing is no longer recommended.

ProtectOurProvince says its briefings will be conducted by experts who will "analyze each day's COVID statistics and provide commentary to help Albertans understand risks and protective measures.

"These briefings will seek to fill the void our government has created," the group said in an emailed release.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/ ... -1.6158546



No word on the Minister of Health's excuse.

[llama66]

The sad part is the Sheeple will vote this bozo and his merry band of bozos back in next year.

[bootlegga]

The Alberta Government's COVID-19 plan visualized:

[Strutz]

/\/\ That's actually a good analogy!

[raydan]

llama66 llama66:

The sad part is the Sheeple will vote this bozo and his merry band of bozos back in next year.

The sad part about politics is that all politicians are bozos and most voters are sheeples.