Alberta’s chief medical officer of health says officials are concerned about a recent uptick in COVID-19 case numbers in the province, particularly among young people, and worries some people may be underestimating the severity of the novel coronavirus.
Speaking to the media Tuesday, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said in recent days, the number of people infected has been increasing following a stretch of decreasing cases. She said advice on containing the spread “has been repeated for months now,” and it might not be hitting home the way it did four months ago.
“This pandemic has been a long haul and I worry that Albertans may be starting to tune the messages out,” Hinshaw said.
“It can seem like old news, and many are tired of hearing this information.”
Saturday marked the most confirmed cases in Alberta since 96 were confirmed on May 10.
Hinshaw said of the 780 new cases that were identified across Alberta in the past two weeks, 57 per cent were in people under the age of 40.
Of the new cases in people younger than 40, Hinshaw said 30 per cent have no known source of trasmission.
“This is a reminder that COVID-19 can spread quickly, and cases can rise rapidly if we don’t all do our part,” she said.
Hinshaw reiterated the importance of social distancing, proper hygiene and following the guidelines for cohorts: a 15-person maximum outside the home for friends and family, and up to 50 people in sports cohorts or groups of performers. She also reminded those in sports cohorts that they should not be interacting with other cohorts in events like tournaments.
Some of Alberta’s new cases have been linked to a recent spike in cases in Saskatchewan, Hinshaw said, as well as house parties in B.C. “where many young people were gathering together, partying in different people’s houses and going out to nightclubs without observing proper social distancing.”
“It is critical that we not single out any one particular segment of society, but rather understand that we all need to be working together to follow the public health guidance to stop transmission,” she said.
Hinshaw said provinces are working closely together to report cases that have exposure in a neighbouring jurisdiction.
“Certainly, as there has been some movement between provinces back and forth, we have seen some cases that have been exposed in other provinces,” Hinshaw said. “Other provinces have reported seeing some cases that were exposed here.”
Some COVID-19 diagnoses are also likely linked to the anti-racism protests that took place across much of the province earlier in the summer and spring.
“We also identified a small number of cases who potentially were infectious while they were present at the rallies,” Hinshaw said.
“We have not seen significant numbers, so the case numbers that I’m aware of are less than 10.”
Hinshaw said transmission at the rallies isn’t surprising given the number of people in attendance, but because of the number of people who wore masks, “the outcome could have been much worse if some of those precautionary measures were not taken.”
Hinshaw reported an additional 86 new cases of COVID-19 in Alberta on Tuesday, along with two more deaths.
The first was a woman in her 90s, who is the sixth person to die in relation to the coronavirus outbreak at the Misericordia Hospital in Edmonton. That outbreak has now reached 49 cases, with 17 active cases among patients and another 17 active cases among staff.
The second death was a woman in her 80s and marks the first death related to a COVID-19 outbreak at the Good Samaritan Southgate Care Centre in Edmonton.
A total of 55 people are being treated in Alberta hospitals for COVID-19, with 13 of them in intensive care units. Nearly 6,000 coronavirus tests were done in the last 24 hours.
Alberta also added Wheatland County to its COVID-19 watch list — bringing the total number of communities in that category to four — but Hinshaw said there are no additional health measures being implemented in either region at this time.
When Premier Jason Kenney was asked whether the province had a date in mind for when Alberta might move into Phase 3 of its relaunch plan, he said that would depend on compliance with public health recommendations.
“I would love to get to Phase 3 as quickly as possible but that will be up to how Albertans conduct themselves in the days and weeks to come,” Kenney said.
— With files from Caley Ramsay
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