Calgary to take measures to act on COVID-19 crisis, citing 'province that doesn't care'

Calgary's mayor says the city will explore measures it can take to protect residents from the flood of COVID-19 cases overwhelming the province's health-care system.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi made the comments just hours after Premier Jason Kenney announced the province was days away from running out of ICU staff to treat patients. The number of patients in intensive care units were at an all time high, and Alberta was asking other provinces for health-care workers or ICU staff. 

As well, doctors were being told to prepare to make life-or-death decisions as to which patients will be able to access interventions like ventilators.

"Regardless of the politics and the ideology and the endless lurching back and forth like a Stampede ride that we're hearing from the province, your city government is here for you … and we'll continue to do what it takes to get us out of this," Nenshi said, following city council's last meeting of the session late Wednesday evening.

One action the mayor suggested was for the city to partner with local pharmacies to bring mobile vaccination buses to locations like train stations to lower barriers to access. He added that Alberta Health System leadership previously mocked him for suggesting a pop-up vaccine clinic should be set up during the Calgary Stampede in July. 

"It's clear that Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services have abandoned targeted vaccination efforts except for one bus in all of Alberta," Nenshi said in a scrum following the meeting.

Earlier, Kenney's government announced a swathe of new restrictions and a state of emergency.