Dr. Deena Hinshaw told reporters on Tuesday that if the number of active COVID-19 cases in Alberta continues to rise, the province risks reaching a “tipping point” that could see the pandemic overwhelm the health system, though she added the situation is not yet at that point.
“I believe we can turn this tide.”
READ MORE: Alberta K-12 students to head back to classroom in fall 2020
The decision was announced as Alberta Health revealed the province had recorded 141 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours and two new deaths related to the coronavirus pandemic.
“This reminds me of the seriousness of this illness,” Hinshaw said of the latest fatalities, adding she also offers her condolences to the loved ones of all those who have died because of the novel coronavirus.
Hinshaw said with the news that students will be returning to classrooms in the fall, she hopes that Albertans will consider the health and safety of youngsters, as well as those who are at highest risk in the pandemic: the elderly and those with chronic health issues.
“COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere,” she said.
“The future is up to us.”
READ MORE: Alberta records 368 new cases of COVID-19 since Friday, 3 new deaths
Hinshaw challenged Albertans and said now is the time to show health officials that their decision to trust the public’s common sense by not bringing in more strict public health measures was the right one.
She noted that a high number of cases where the source of coronavirus transmission is unknown makes her concerned, as does a recent trend in contact tracing when it comes to some patients, where the number of interactions with other people and groups is getting longer.
“Our average number of contacts per case has gone up and we know that it is possible that new cases could spike in a very rapid way once it sort of reaches that tipping point where you have enough new cases with enough contacts … I don’t think we’ve crossed that tipping point.
“We are doing everything we can with regard to closing the gap in rapid contact tracing, rapid notification of new cases, making sure that our messaging is very clear, looking at how we can enhance our messaging to those who are in that highest number age group of the 20- to 39-year-olds.”
READ MORE: More Americans eye move to Canada as COVID-19 cases surge in U.S.
Kenney also expressed frustration with a sense of complacency about the pandemic that is setting in among some Albertans.
“It looks like some folks are no longer observing the public health guidelines,” the premier said. “Whatever their reasons, the results are troubling.
“COVID-19 is not over and it likely won’t be over for months to come.
“If you think you can socialize with large groups of people in close quarters, knock it off.”
Kenney also warned that if the public health situation deteriorates significantly, the pandemic would further devastate the province’s economy on top of taking a significant toll in terms of human lives.
Despite her concerns about Alberta’s rising number of active COVID-19 cases, Hinshaw noted there were reasons to be optimistic about the province being able to take action to improve the situation. She noted that two weeks ago, Sylvan Lake and other popular summer spots in the province were overwhelmed with visitors, many of whom weren’t following public health orders and recommendations. Last weekend, however, Hinshaw said the there were “clear improvements” at lakes in the province and that was thanks to the work of local officials, health officials and Albertans in general.
Alberta’s number of active COVID-19 cases reaches 1,193
With the 141 new COVID-19 cases recorded by health officials, Alberta’s total number of active cases reached 1,193 on Tuesday afternoon. The Calgary zone had the most active cases (589) on Tuesday afternoon, followed by the Edmonton zone (233).
The two new deaths recorded bring the province’s total number of COVID-19 deaths to 172.
According to Alberta Health, the two people who died most recently of the disease were a woman in her 70s at Edmonton’s Good Samaritan Southgate Care Centre and a woman in her 80s in the Calgary zone.
READ MORE: 3rd death reported in connection to outbreak at Edmonton care centre
Of Alberta’s active cases, 93 involve people in hospital and 16 of those are in intensive care units.
Since the coronavirus pandemic first hit Alberta in March, the province has had 9,728 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 8,363 of those have seen people recover.
Alberta has conducted 598,317 novel coronavirus tests, 7,813 of those were conducted over the past 24 hours.