Alberta ends regularly scheduled COVID-19 updates
CBC
There will be no more regularly scheduled COVID-19 news conferences, Alberta's chief medical officer of health said Wednesday.
The severity of the Omicron wave has been slowly declining for weeks. The provincial government changed its COVID-19 updates with Dr. Deena Hinshaw and Health Minister Jason Copping from a weekly occurrence to bi-weekly.
During Wednesday's news conference, Hinshaw announced it would be the last regularly scheduled COVID update.
"We remain committed to the transparent communication of important public health information, and we will, of course, provide updates as necessary," she said.
Alberta Health will continue updating public COVID-19 data each week, she said.
Upcoming changes to how public health officials monitor COVID-19, which are supposed to make things more sustainable, will affect the public data dashboard later this summer, Hinshaw said.
In the fall, Alberta Health will change its COVID reporting so it aligns with that of its influenza dashboard, showing how the two respiratory illnesses are spreading, she added.
The stoppage of regular in-person updates is part of this transition, Hinshaw said.
"We're entering a phase of the pandemic where our response can be de-escalated, while we remain vigilant and prepared to respond to new variants that may drive another wave of cases and hospital admissions," Copping said Wednesday.
Last week, Alberta dropped mandatory public health restrictions, except for some measures in Alberta Health Services facilities and other health facilities.
Public health orders for continuing-care facilities will be rescinded June 30, Copping said, but protective policies will stay in place as part of operating standards.
Alberta Health Services will monitor outbreaks in higher-risk settings and respond as needed, he said.
Later this summer, some AHS testing sites will be turned into swabbing sites that will be integrated with other services, Copping said.
Hinshaw noted that living with COVID-19 does not mean it is going away, but that the province has tools available to lift public health restrictions.
This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.
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