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Alberta reports 1 new COVID-19 death on Wednesday, 19 new cases

Click to play video: 'Alberta COVID-19 hospitalization rate metrics explained'
Alberta COVID-19 hospitalization rate metrics explained
WATCH: Alberta Premier Jason Kenney and chief medical officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw address COVID-19 hospitalization rates and how it affects decisions made in regards to the provincial reopening plan. – May 20, 2020

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story originally said that no new COVID-19 deaths were reported in Alberta on Wednesday based on the total number of deaths (128) provided by the province which was the same as the day before. An Alberta Health spokesperson later clarified that there was a new death, and a previously reported COVID-19 death has been determined not to be related to the disease. The story has since been updated to say one death was reported on Wednesday.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Alberta Health had confirmed 19 new cases of COVID-19 and one additional death.

However, the total number of deaths due to the disease remained at 128 because Alberta Health said that “a death previously announced at Extendicare Hillcrest [in Calgary] has been determined to not be linked to COVID-19.”
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The new death reported on Wednesday was a man in his 70s at Extendicare Hillcrest in Calgary, according to Alberta Health.

The government department reported zero COVID-19-related fatalities on Tuesday.

According to provincial data, Wednesday marked the lowest number of new cases confirmed in Alberta since March 29, when there were 18 cases.

As of Wednesday, there were 970 active cases in the province and 5,637 recovered cases.

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There were 58 people with the novel coronavirus in hospital, seven of whom were in intensive care units.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw did not speak at a news conference on Wednesday, but said Tuesday the numbers are “good” and “stable.”

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“That’s what I would want to see,” Alberta’s chief medical officer of health said.

Hinshaw said because of the COVID-19 incubation period, it will still be a few days until her team can start getting a sense of how the relaunch is going.

The first phase of Alberta’s economic relaunch started — in most parts of the province — on May 14.

Brooks and Calgary are seeing a more gradual reopening given the higher number of cases in those two cities.

As of Wednesday, 181,037 people had registered for the ABTraceTogether contact tracing app.

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Premier Jason Kenney announced earlier Wednesday that additional screening measures will be implemented to strengthen protections at Alberta’s international airports, in hopes of further reducing the spread of the novel coronavirus as Alberta’s relaunch plan continues to roll out.

Effective immediately, Kenney said anyone returning to the Calgary or Edmonton airports from outside Canada will have to pass through a provincial checkpoint where they will have a thermal temperature check done, as an elevated temperature is a potential symptom of COVID-19.

Travellers will also be required to detail their 14-day self-isolation plan, which must outline how they will get to their self-isolation location, how they will get groceries and medications delivered to them and who specifically — family or friends — will support them as they self-isolate.

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