The Alberta government is supporting other provinces by providing personal protective equipment to help in the fight against COVID-19.
Premier Jason Kenney has announced the province will send supplies to British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec to help address unprecedented demand.
Ontario will receive 250,000 N95 masks, 2.5 million procedural masks, 15 million nitrile gloves, 87,000 goggles and 50 ventilators from Alberta.
Alberta will provide Quebec with 250,000 N95 masks, two million procedure masks and 15 million nitrile gloves. British Columbia will receive 250,000 N95 masks.
“Albertans should be very proud that we are able to extend a helping hand to our Canadian brothers and sisters in this time of need,” said Kenney on Saturday.
“It is because of Albertans’ efforts to isolate and the incredible job being done by front-line health-care workers that we are in a position to support others during this crisis. We want all of our country to know that in both good times and bad, Alberta is there for Canada.”
Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia are the provinces most impacted by COVID-19.
Alberta will begin shipping these items this week, and is willing to provide more supplies to other provinces as the need arises and as supplies arrive in our province, said Kenney.
Recent COVID-19 modelling projections indicate the most probable scenario for Alberta is the virus will reach its peak in mid-May. An estimated 820 people could require hospitalization during the peak period, with more than a quarter requiring critical care.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro said “our team of Alberta health experts is very confident in our modelling data and our expected need for PPE and ventilators.
“I assure all Albertans that we have ample supply. We are in a position both to keep Albertans safe and to help ensure Canadian health-care systems from coast to coast are equipped to take on the challenges ahead,” said Shandro.
It is expected the ventilators will remain in Ontario until the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak has passed.
Alberta will double its ventilator supply by the end of April to ensure the health-care system has the capacity to support provincial response, said Shandro.
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