Health minister Jason Copping says number of hospitalizations will drop 'soon and fast'

COVID-19 related hospitalizations are on the decline, according to Alberta’s health minister. 

On Thursday (Feb. 10), Jason Copping said that new admissions of COVID positive patients peaked more than two weeks ago and have been falling steadily since. 

“That means that the number of patients will drop. It will drop soon, and fast, if we look at the experience of other jurisdictions that are ahead of us on the Omicron curve,” he said. 

Currently, 1,586 people are in hospital, including 126 in intensive care. Twenty-two new deaths were reported on Thursday, to a total of 3,718 since the start of the pandemic. 

Copping pointed to Alberta Health Services' announcement earlier in the day that announced it would be closing its Pandemic Response Units due to a slowdown of patients admitted.

The number of hospitalized non-ICU patients across the province has slowed in recent days, allowing for the PRU’s deactivation. A total of 30 patients were admitted to the unit since it opened. (2/4)

— Alberta Health Services (@AHS_media) February 10, 2022

“Hospitalizations are a lagging indicator; we know roughly where they’ll go based on the case data and the new admissions data.” 

Surgeries in Alberta are also close to normal volumes, with the waitlist down slightly in recent weeks, Copping added.  

The health minister also announced that the province's QR code reader app for showing proof of COVID-19 vaccination would no longer be available; however, Albertans can still download their proof of vaccine if needed.