Active COVID infections continue fall in Alberta as hospitalizations rise

As COVID infections fall in Alberta, the province continues to see a rise in the number of Albertans admitted to hospital with the virus.

Since Monday, there have been 2,722 new cases reported on more than 6,700 tests for a positivity rate of around 40.5 per cent.

WATCH: Health Minister Jason Copping and Dr. Deena Hinshaw provide an update on COVID-19 in Alberta.

There are now at least 51,157 active cases of the virus in Alberta. This is a significant drop from just one week ago when there were more than 70,000 active infections in the province.

As for severe outcomes of COVID-19, hospital numbers continue to rise. Nearly 1,400 people are in hospital with COVID, 111 of which are in the ICU.

As a whole, hospitalization numbers have increased more than 30 per cent over the last week according to Health Minister Jason Copping.

NEW:

– 13 new COVID-related deaths
– 1377 patients with COVID in Alberta hospital (+73), incl 111 in ICU (+3)
– 51157 active COVID cases
– 2722 cases/6718 tests (40.5%+)#yeg #Yyc #ableg #Covid19ab pic.twitter.com/df9x4Zt1fL

— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) January 25, 2022

“As in previous waves, hospital admissions will lag behind cases. So, there’s no discrepancy in the fact that cases seem to be starting to be going down while admissions at the same time are rising,” Copping said. “It means, I hope, we’re at a turning point in the current wave that we can start to see the end of it.”

Copping says over the last week, an average of 58.6 per cent of new, non-ICU admissions are directly related to COVID, while 66.1 per cent of new ICU admissions are from COVID.

Alberta Health also reporting 13 more people have died with COVID-19 over the last day.

Paxlovid antiviral pill coming next week

During Tuesday’s update, Copping also announced shipments of the Paxlovid antiviral pill should arrive in Alberta next week.

Pfizer’s at-home prescription is said to be arriving on Jan. 31 .

“Initially 3,200 courses of treatment will be available as another option in addition to the antibody therapy we’ve been using for the past several months to help keep eligible individuals with mild to moderate COVID from experiencing severe illness and ending up in hospital.”

Copping says because the pill can cause side effects, only certain groups of Albertans will be eligible to get it.

He says there will be a process in place to ensure those who need it most will get it first.

Copping says Paxlovid will go to those who need it most.

Patient will also need to have a + PCR test, and be available at limited locations.

Adds that side effects will also limit who can use it.

— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) January 25, 2022

“In addition, to be eligible for Paxlovid, a patient must have a PCR confirmed COVID-19 infection. Due to such a limited initial supply, the drug will only be available at a select number of pharmacies in the province by prescription and after an assessment by AHS Healthlink,” Copping explained.

On top of shipments of Paxlovid, Alberta has also received half a million doses of Pfizer vaccines.

Copping says these Pfizer doses are now available, so if anyone has been waiting for this shipment to get their shot, they can now book in.