Alberta’s politicians absent as COVID-19 hospitalizations rise

Doctors step in to update public on fourth wave

EDMONTON • As COVID-19 case counts and hospitalizations steadily rise in Alberta, government officials and politicians have been criticized for being unusually quiet in recent weeks, shunning public communications and the daily COVID briefings that had become a mainstay of the pandemic.

The fourth wave is putting pressure on Alberta’s medical system. The province had more than 12,200 active COVID-19 cases as of Tuesday, with 465 COVID-19 patients in hospital, and 107 of them in intensive-care units. As of Aug. 29, there were just 31 ICU beds available in Alberta’s hospital system.

Alberta Health Services has announced, in recent weeks, the postponement of dozens of surgeries in the Edmonton area and northern parts of the province; patients have had to be transferred from Grande Prairie — where only 51 per cent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated — to Edmonton due to demand for COVID care in the local hospital.

For weeks, questions have been mounting about the province’s pandemic response, as case counts slowly began to climb, and none of the figures Albertans are used to hearing from made public appearances.

Premier Jason Kenney was last seen in public on Aug. 9, making an announcement at an Edmonton brewery.

But on Wednesday night, Kenney appeared in a “fireside chat” to take questions from Albertans.

“I’m hiding in plain view,” Kenney said via Facebook Live.

In it, he spoke about a forthcoming announcement about new incentives to get Albertans vaccinated.

The premier said there is “no viable” COVID-ZERO policy, but that, should cases keep rising there would be “targeted” measures to address the spike.

Tyler Shandro, the health minister, last gave a media briefing in late July. And Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health, whose presence was ubiquitous for much of the last 18 months, last spoke to reporters on Aug. 13.

It has led to considerable criticism, in part from New Democrats, but also groups of concerned doctors and parents, who, as kids head back to school, are wondering what the plan is.

Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University, said it looks like, at this point, “they’re governing by tweet.”

“Where are they?” Bratt said.

Alberta leads other provinces in total number of active cases by a wide margin — nearly double those of British Columbia and Ontario, which both sit around 6,000.

Ontario has 336 people in hospital; B.C. has 176 in hospital and 91 in intensive care. On a per-capita basis, Alberta has 256 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 40 per 100,000 people in Ontario, 51 per 100,000 people in Quebec and 123 per 100,000 in B.C., according to Public Health Agency of Canada data.

The National Post sought comment from Kenney, Shandro and Hinshaw’s offices about their whereabouts and plans to address the public. No response was received from Kenney and Shandro’s offices. Hinshaw’s said she was not giving an update Tuesday.

Kenney’s office has previously said that he is on holiday, but has still been able to participate in briefings and has been in contact with government officials.

Still, there has been little direction from the highest echelons of government — or even their subordinates — as Alberta’s case rates climb to roughly double that of the next-worst province, and cities, schools and the private sector all move to bring in their own Covid-related health measures.

Alberta’s politicians aren’t alone in their silence — or the criticism they’re facing. Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s top doctor, hasn’t held a briefing since the federal election began, and while she’s expected to give a briefing this week, it’s unclear if they will become a regular occurrence.

Jason Kindrachuk, an infectious diseases expert at the University of Manitoba, said a lack of information from government is concerning, especially considering how the Delta wave has unfolded in the United States.

“You want to have, certainly for the public, a feeling of transparency and a feeling that there is, basically, a response to this,” Kindrachuk said. “Given the way that Delta transmits, there is a significant concern that everybody … that is not vaccinated, will ultimately get infected.”

The closest Albertans came was on Tuesday, when Finance Minister Travis Toews — at a news conference for the province’s fiscal update — was asked about the pandemic by reporters. Toews said “we’re in a fourth wave at this point in time,” and insisted that there has been “daily communication around the pandemic.”

There has, on social media and via news release, such as when, last week, Shandro announced on Twitter that Albertans will be able to get proof of vaccination if they need it, but there has been no in-person briefings.

“I have full confidence in our chief medical officer and our health minister to, at the appropriate time, make themselves available for the press,” Toews said.

Also on Tuesday, Alberta Health Services held a media briefing about mandatory vaccinations for health-care workers, but it didn’t offer the details about community spread and hospitalization that COVID briefings usually provide.

The current outbreak in Alberta is mostly among the unvaccinated, government data show, with nearly 80 per cent of those in non-icu beds either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. In the ICU, 94 per cent are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

In several parts of the province — mainly northern jurisdictions — less than half are vaccinated, government data show. In High Level, just 19 per cent of eligible people are fully vaccinated, and only 23 per cent have one dose, the lowest rates in the province.

Into the breach on Monday stepped a handful of doctors who have been consistent vocal critics of the United Conservative government.

It was to them that several thousand Albertans turned for guidance — for information about statistics and suggestions about what to do next.

Among them was Dr. Joe Vipond, a Calgary doctor who has emerged as a leading critic of the government’s pandemic response, and who’s faced criticism from the premier’s office for political donations to the NDP. (Vipond has said his relationship with the NDP ends there and that he has had policy meetings with all parties.)

“There is an obligation from a medical perspective to make sure the public knows the right info,” said Vipond. “We can’t replace the government — we have no power. We don’t make policy.… We’re a poor replacement for real leaders doing their real job.”