A look inside an Alberta ICU as health-care workers struggle with COVID-19 surge
Province reported record-breaking numbers, with 1,336 new cases on Saturday
In the pandemic response unit at the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary, Dr. Simon Demers-Marcil picked up the phone. It was his job to call a family to break the news that their loved one had died of COVID-19.
Demers-Marcil had made phone calls like this before, and he knew the first step was to make sure the person was in a safe place — breaking the news when someone is driving, for example, would be irresponsible.
There's no easy way to say it. So Demers-Marcil usually starts calls this way: "We have some terrible news."
One such call was captured in a photo posted by Alberta Health Services and shared thousands of times on social media.
Speaking to CBC News on Saturday night, Demers-Marcil said he doesn't remember the specific moment depicted in the photo. But he said these calls have become almost part of a routine.
"What's difficult with COVID is that a lot of times with life-threatening situations, we're used to having the families there in the unit," he said.
"So with this new world we live in, we have to find a way to communicate accurately, and in a sensible way, very hard news like this."
Alberta surpassed record high COVID-19 cases once again on Saturday, with another 1,336 people testing positive.
As of Saturday, 320 people were in hospital with the illness and 56 were in intensive care units.
Seventy ICU beds have been designated for COVID-19 patients in Alberta, meaning the province is quickly approaching that capacity — although Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Friday that more beds could be shifted if the need arises.