‘They must tell Albertans the truth’: Alberta opposition calls on province to release COVID-19 modelling data

Alberta’s opposition leader is calling on the province to release its modelling data from Alberta Health Services.

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley made the demand after a startling two-week forecast was released by the Ontario government.

WATCH: Rachel Notley calls on the UCP to release a COVID-19 forecast from AHS after a startling report out of Ontario. 

It shows the COVID-19 Omicron variant overwhelming hospitals in the next two weeks.

Notley is concerned that even if a fraction of those infected face severe symptoms compared to previous variants, the sheer number of people with Omicron could overwhelm the province’s healthcare system.

“We know that AHS maintains a daily two-week forecast for hospital admissions. We’ve seen this document many times throughout the pandemic. Today’s version of that document is sitting on a government computer right now,” Notley said.

“Jason Kenney and the UCP know what the threat to Alberta hospitals looks like and they must tell Albertans the truth.”

On Dec. 30, Alberta reported an estimated 4,000 new cases of COVID-19 with a positivity rate of around 30 per cent. Both figures easily would break the records set from just the day prior.

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Alberta shatters previous COVID case record in preliminary numbers update

Notley says other provinces such as Ontario, Quebec and B.C. have all released modelling throughout the pandemic while Alberta’s UCP has “withheld this information, and lied to Albertans about whether it even exists.”

She points to Ontario where, in the recently released report, officials project that, in the worst-case scenario, there will be a “seven-fold increase in COVID-related hospitalizations in just two weeks.”

Alberta’s hospitals were hit hard during the previous wave of COVID-19 and left a lasting impact on the healthcare system. An impact that continues to be felt today.

Notley says one of the main problems we are faced with now is the province is starting this wave at a higher level of hospitalizations than other provinces.

“The prospect of another wave crashing into our healthcare system is extremely worrying. Not only for the Albertans who may be infected with the virus, but also for every single Albertan who is waiting for surgery to address an injury or serious illness or who may need treatment they’re not aware of yet.”

The Alberta NDP leader says if businesses are once again asked to make sacrifices, it should be based on hard data and shouldn’t come at the last minute.

“We do have a right to see the information that they have, just as Canadians in other provinces have been able to do.”