There were 216 additional cases of COVID-19 reported in Alberta on Monday, bringing the total of cases in the province to 4,696.
Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, also reported two additional deaths, bringing the provincial total to 75. Both the additional deaths were in the Calgary zone.
“I do not want this number of deaths to become just one more statistic,” Hinshaw said. “These cases illustrate that infection with this virus has serious consequences for many people.”
She added that there are currently 87 people hospitalized due to COVID-19, with 20 in intensive care.
There are 489 cases that are suspected of being community acquired.
So far, 1,664 people have recovered, Hinshaw said.
There are now 458 confirmed cases at continuing care facilities, up by 23 since Sunday.
“Outbreaks in these facilities remain a major concern, which is why we expanded testing eligibility to include asymptomatic staff and residents in any facility with an outbreak,” Hinshaw said.
“This virus can only be defeated by our collective efforts to protect each other.”
Outbreak confirmed at Bearspaw First Nation
Alberta’s Indigenous relations minister also confirmed there is now an outbreak at the Bearspaw First Nation west of Calgary.
“Bearspaw First Nation, in the foothills west of Calgary, has reported an outbreak at Eden Valley of 14 cases and one case at Morley,” Rick Wilson said.
- Buzz kill? Gen Z less interested in coffee than older Canadians, survey shows
- Naloxone-resistant street drug linked to 9 deaths in Eastern Canada seized in Alberta
- Bird flu risk to humans an ‘enormous concern,’ WHO says. Here’s what to know
- ‘She gets to be 10’: Ontario child’s heart donated to girl the same age
Hinshaw said that she is confident the First Nation will be able to manage the outbreak.
“This community has an experienced emergency management team in place,” Hinshaw said. “It managed through the 2013 southern Alberta floods.
More cases confirmed in Calgary’s homeless population
There are also two additional cases of COVID-19 that have been reported at Calgary homeless centres, said Alberta’s minister of Community and Social Services at Monday’s update.
“There is now a third confirmed case at the Drop-In Centre and a fourth at the Salvation Army in Calgary,” Rajan Sawhney said.
AHS rolled out additional testing for all shelter guests Monday, including those who are asymptomatic.
Hinshaw said Monday that the province had previously tested 1,000 symptomatic people at these facilities around the province.
“Alberta has specifically prioritized testing in vulnerable populations,” she said. “Yesterday (Sunday) was the first positive result.
“This is a concern, as homeless Albertans don’t have access to the same kinds of supports and resources that many of us have available and take for granted,” Hinshaw said.
Those who have tested positive or are symptomatic will be moved to an isolation centre in Calgary, Sawhney said.
“We have identified the people who have had close contact with those infected, and are helping to support them at this time,” said Sawhney.
Edmonton hospitals also fighting outbreaks
Hinshaw also confirmed that there are two “small hospital outbreaks” in Edmonton being investigated by Alberta Health officials: at the Sturgeon Community Hospital and the Royal Alexandra Hospital.
“There are two investigations underway of small hospital outbreaks where swift action has been taken to prevent the spread,” she said.
“There are no links between the two facilities.”
She added another case identified at Edmonton General was linked to the Sturgeon outbreak due to a patient transfer.
Alberta Health said there is one case confirmed at Sturgeon, who was then transferred to Edmonton General, and another at Royal Alex.
“It is important to be transparent about these situations, so Albertans know we are sharing information as soon as we have it,” said Hinshaw.
On Monday, the province shared testing statistics for health-care workers impacted by COVID-19 at AHS facilities in the province. There have so far been a total of 472 cases, with 181 considered active and 291 recovered.
Hinshaw says ‘no decision’ yet on relaxing gathering limits
Hinshaw said Monday there was no update on when social gathering limits would be loosened. Right now, a provincial order prohibits gatherings of more than 15 people.
“No decision has been made on when we will be able to relax this limit on gatherings, but it is something we will continue to monitor as we see the results of our collective efforts to prevent the spread paying off,” she said.
She said it was “critical” that the decision is not rushed as it could undo the progress Alberta has made in flattening the curve.
“We have seen in Alberta that gatherings of even a small group [can] cause the virus to spread to many others,” Hinshaw said.
“I know we all need to feel that we can see the end of this restriction, especially as the weather gets nicer and we all want to be outside. We are planning how we can move towards easing restrictions in a way that does not rapidly increase transmission.”
She added Albertans who are well and have not been in contact with anyone confirmed to have COVID-19 can spend time outside with a “small number of friends,” if they stay two metres apart from those not in their household.
Hinshaw said that she believes that people in Alberta have done a “fantastic” job of flattening the curve.
“When you talk about the modelling and the numbers we could have seen — certainly when we look at some of the numbers that provinces like Ontario or Quebec have seen — if we had seen the same kind of spread in Alberta, we would absolutely have been at our probable curve.
“I think Albertans can take pride in the way we have collectively managed to keep the virus under control,” she said.
Comments