Some Alberta hospitals triaging probable measles patients in vehicles

Andrea Huncar · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 09, 2025 7:19 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hr ago

Some Alberta hospitals are triaging probable measles patients in their vehicles, arsenic the province's outbreak continues to grow. 

Harkening backmost to the COVID-19 days, patients showing up astatine the Grey Nuns Community Hospital successful southbound Edmonton with measles symptoms are present being triaged successful the ambulance bay alternatively than waiting for isolation rooms. 

Janet Laurie, a spokesperson for Covenant Health, said successful an email that it expedites the process and ensures patients person the attraction they need. She added that the process was successful spot successful galore different sites successful Alberta.

Dr. Stephanie Smith, an infectious illness specializer astatine the University of Alberta Hospital, said the triage strategy being utilized adds an "extra furniture of caution" that besides protects different patients successful the exigency department.

She said the strategy has been successful spot for astatine slightest the past mates of months, particularly successful facilities similar the Stollery Children's Hospital, wherever young children cannot beryllium afloat vaccinated.

Of Edmonton's full 12 measles cases since March, three were detected astatine the Grey Nuns.

"This is of large interest fixed however contagious measles is and the hazard to children nether 5 and patients who are immunocompromised," Laurie said. 

"An outbreak connected a portion would adjacent it down to further admissions and spot further accent connected the system."

A spokesperson for Alberta Health Services said the process is utilized astatine health-care facilities but it is not utilized often.

"It is utilized arsenic needed and has been successful spot intermittently since March, truthful it is not a caller measure," said Kristi Bland successful an email. "It is not a effect to a important summation successful cases, nor does it bespeak an unreported oregon emerging fig of cases."

'Dangerous territory'

Former Alberta main aesculapian serviceman of wellness Dr. James Talbot weighed successful arsenic the province's caseload deed 1,246 Wednesday.

"It says we're successful unsafe territory," said Talbot, an adjunct prof astatine the University of Alberta's School of Public Health.

"What physicians and nationalist wellness experts person been saying for months present is that the state has been precise dilatory to respond to this."

"We present person the worst grounds successful North America."

Talbot said helium is disquieted increasing outbreaks could pb to the state losing its measles-free status. 

Being stripped of the presumption achieved successful 1998 could person some reputational and economical impacts for Canada, helium said.

"If the power measures are successful spot and utilized decently and decently resourced, we didn't person to get determination and we inactive person the quality to get backmost to wherever determination aren't immoderate measles," Talbot said.

"But the longer it lasts, the much radical affected, the much costly it's going to be, the longer it's going to instrumentality to get backmost to zero."

Vaccination rates up: province

Maddison McKee, property Secretary to Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services Adriana LaGrange, said vaccination efforts are making a difference, including the summation of clinics and extended hours.

She said during an ongoing multi-lingual immunization run launched successful May, Alberta saw immunizations summation by much than 65 per cent compared to the aforesaid clip past year.

"Between March 16 and June 28, much than 75,000 measles vaccines were administered crossed Alberta—an summation of much than 57 per cent compared with the aforesaid play past year. In the South Zone alone, vaccine uptake roseate by 126 per cent," McKee wrote.

She pointed retired that determination person been nary caller cases successful Edmonton since March and nary that are presently active.

Talbot said helium wants to spot regular updates from Alberta's main aesculapian serviceman of wellness alongside a much robust selling run due to the fact that of the possibility of exposures implicit the summer at events similar shot tournaments, summertime camps and household gatherings.

"That's imaginable for dispersed to different provinces," Talbot said. "And past travel the fall, we'll spot those kids instrumentality and spell into school. And truthful past we'll person different question that we person to interest about."