The province announced Thursday that two more people have died as a result of COVID-19 in Alberta.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw said a man in his 90s from the LifeStyle Options Schonsee Retirement Community in Edmonton and a man in his 70s from the North zone passed away. Hinshaw said the man in the North zone was not in a continuing care centre.
The two deaths brought the total number of people who have lost their lives in Alberta as a result of the novel coronavirus is 237. One-hundred-18 deaths in the Calgary zone, 60 in the Edmonton zone, 28 in the North zone, 24 in the South zone and seven in the Central zone.
There were 108 new cases across Alberta over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of active cases to 1,158. Five-hundred-89 of those cases are in the Edmonton zone, 375 in the Calgary zone, 148 in the North zone, 25 in the Central zone, 18 in the South zone and three unknown.
Forty-nine people across Alberta are in hospital as a result of the virus, with seven of those individuals in intensive care.
Hinshaw said the Bright Horizons Child Care in Edmonton has had six cases of the novel coronavirus within the past several weeks. There have been a total of 16 identified COVID-19 cases at child care facilities in Alberta and two instances where there have been more than two cases of the virus, Hinshaw said, which she said has been “comforting.”
“What we can conclude — at least so far — is when our public health guidance is followed, when outbreaks are rapidly identified and measures are put in place, we can stop spread very quickly.”
Hinshaw reminded students, teachers and all school staff that anyone who develops COVID-19 symptoms cannot attend school. Parents are being asked to conduct a COVID-related questionnaire every morning to determine whether their child can go to school.
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Hinshaw also said students or staff who develop symptoms at school must be immediately isolated and sent home as soon possible. If there is a confirmed case at a school, not only does the individual have to go home and quarantine for two weeks but so does anyone who was in close contact with them.
“If my child is in a classroom where there has been a single confirmed case and my child was in close contact with that case, they must stay home for 14 days. While they are at home, they should be watched for symptoms and they should not be in close contact with other family members for those 14 days.”
Hinshaw said if a younger child is required to stay home for 14 days, one parent or guardian should be responsible for taking care of that child during that period.
“That way, if the contact becomes the case, there will be less likelihood that they will have passed the infection to others,” she said.
Hinshaw said close contact is defined as being within two metres of a person for a total of 15 minutes or more during one day without adequate protection against COVID-19, as well as the sharing of food, hugging or kissing.
“Alberta Health Services investigators will determine who spent more than 15 minutes within two metres of the infectious case, and they will provide advice and recommendations based on this assessment,” Hinshaw said.
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Hinshaw said an outbreak at a school will be defined as two or more cases within a 14-day period or two or more cases that are linked to a school setting. Parents, staff and teachers will be notified if an outbreak occurs or if there is a single case at their school.
“If needed, Alberta Education will make decisions on alternative instructional delivery plans or school closures with input from local officials,” Hinshaw said.
Hinshaw said the province is not pre-determining triggers for school closures as a result of the virus. Instead, factors such as absenteeism, school outbreaks and community transmission rate will be taken into account.
“We will be carefully monitoring the implementation of in-school learning in Alberta to detect any early signs of concerns that will inform ongoing evaluation of our public health advice and school re-entry plan,” she said.
“I know this might create concern for teachers and parents who might prefer a single number to watch for. I assure you teams at AHS, Alberta Health and Alberta Education will monitor the situation in schools very closely.”
There have been 13,318 novel coronavirus cases in Alberta since the start of the pandemic, with 11,923 of those cases having recovered.