The novel coronavirus is here to stay, much like the annual flu season, Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping said Thursday..Copping’s COVID-19 update follows a briefing from federal Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam earlier this week, in which she said a seventh wave this fall is a real threat..While Tam warned there will be more viral activity in the future and said there’s a need to prepare for another wave, Copping took a more relaxed approach. The virus will become a seasonal occurrence with higher rates in the colder months similar to the flu, he said..“Our teams at Alberta Health and AHS all are already looking ahead to the fall and winter and making plans for a potential rise and COVID and influenza cases then, and I can assure you we will be prepared,” Copping said..Alberta has been growing its healthcare capacity — including to add intensive care unit beds and to hire more health workers — to bolster its healthcare system, which Copping said was close to buckling even before the added strain of COVID patients. .The minister said COVID-19 hospital admissions have declined sharply..“This is the lowest number of total hospitalizations we've seen since the peak in the initial Omicron wave and the lowest number of ICU admissions we've seen since August,” Copping said..All data, including the province’s PCR positivity rate and wastewater surveillance, shows a continuing trend of declining COVID transmission in the province, Copping said. Between May 31 and June 6, the average PCR test positivity rate was about 15% — a decrease of 2% from the previous week, he said..In her testimony to MPs at the Commons health committee on Wednesday, Tam said she’s concerned some of the subvariants of the COVID-19 Omicron variant could be a problem, or that new variants could emerge..“The pandemic is not over,” Tam said. .Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer Deena Hinshaw said the province’s current approach is sufficient to understand what's circulating and to respond to new strains as they emerge..“What we're doing right now, with respect to using wastewater surveillance, as well as using geographically representative community surveillance of PCR swabs as well as the PCR tests that come in through emergency departments and hospitals, is a good representation of what is circulating in the community and would help us understand what the strains are that are driving transmission,” she added.
