One person has died from COVID-19 in Jasper and one person has recovered.
The detailed statistics were revealed by an update on Alberta Health's COVID-19 statistics page today (April 6).
The map shows that the municipality of Jasper has had seven confirmed cases, five of which are still active.
Alberta Health is not providing information on specific cases unless there is a risk to the public to protect patient confidentiality. Anyone at risk will be directly contacted by AHS.
The total number of cases is an increase of one since yesterday, but the data breakdown has not been available before today.
In Alberta, there are 98 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 1,348. There are now 89 cases in the North Zone, which Jasper is part of.
In total, 361 people have recovered and 24 people have died, an increase of one since yesterday. Eleven of the province鈥檚 total deaths have been in a single nursing home in Calgary.
A statement from Alberta Health Services:
The Government of Alberta and Alberta Health Services have always practiced emergency preparedness, and are continually working to make sure our staff across the province have what they need to care for patients. Part of our preparedness measures include ensuring space is available if there should be a sudden or large influx of patients.
All zones in Alberta Health Services have freed up spaces to prepare for a possible surge, making 1,500 spaces available province-wide by April 8. This has been done mainly by postponing elective surgeries, and moving seniors out of acute care, when appropriate. Beyond that, 750 additional spaces will be made available by April 15, which will be accomplished by utilizing over-capacity spaces such as alcoves, hallways, and unused operating rooms.
In all, 2,250 spaces in Alberta will be open and ready for patients, should they be needed, by April 15. This work is not unique to our COVID-19 response 鈥� AHS uses over-capacity protocols whenever pressure on our hospitals increases. Our COVID response is an extension of that.
AHS usually has a three-month supply of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for our staff. We are meeting current needs of all front-line staff and physicians. We are working hard to increase our supply now and into the future, because we are not just supplying our own staff during this pandemic response.
We are sharing our supply with other organizations, such as continuing care facilities, physician offices and shelters. We plan to continue to provide those care providers with PPE. Global shortages of PPE and the delays everyone is experiencing in replenishment of stock have left us with significantly reduced supply compared to our potential needs.
Currently we鈥檙e working to obtain additional PPE to ensure we have enough supply for the COVID-19 response, now and into the future. We鈥檙e working to secure additional PPE, including gloves, masks, isolation gowns, N95 respirators, goggles, and face shields. AHS continues to work with the provincial and federal governments to procure additional supplies.
Regarding ventilators, the numbers on ventilators are shifting as we procure new equipment. As of March 31, there were 509 adult critical care ventilators at key AHS and Covenant Health sites. We have additional ventilators arriving early April and we also have older ventilators that we have retained that can be used as needed. There are also pediatric ventilators available. We are also purchasing more ventilators and working with companies that may be able to manufacture more in the short term.
Alberta is in regular contact with its federal and provincial partners on the status of medical supplies in Canada, and we are all working together to acquire more ventilators and other medical equipment. There are no current plans to set up an emergency facility for COVID-19 in Jasper.
AHS has a contingency planning process for the COVID-19 pandemic that considers all relevant aspects of resource planning, assessment and response. Planning is ongoing throughout the province, including in the North Zone, to ensure we are fully prepared to respond to an influx of COVID-19 patients.
