Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health

By rdnewsNOW staff

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A woman in her thirties from the Central zone is among the latest confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alberta.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, confirmed five new cases of novel coronavirus, all of them travel-related, bring our province’s total to 19.

One patient continues to recover in hospital, while all others are in isolation at home.

The World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic.

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“Alberta has been actively planning for every possible scenario,” said Hinshaw. “We know that COVID-19 is going to test our health system and emergency preparedness, but our system is preparing for that test.

“While the risk of exposure is still low in Alberta, all partners are working together to limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of Albertans,” she added.

One of the latest confirmed cases involves an Edmonton man in his thirties who officials say recently returned from international travel and started experiencing symptoms a number of days after returning. The man received previously scheduled, unrelated treatment at Misericordia Hospital in Edmonton on March 6 and 7, before testing positive for COVID-19 on March 9. He is now self-isolating.

Any staff or patients who were potentially exposed at this location are being directly contacted by public health. There is no risk to any patients or staff at the hospital at this time.

The other confirmed cases involve a man in his twenties and two women in their thirties from the Calgary zone.

The five newly confirmed cases had returned from visiting a range of countries, including Iran, Egypt, Spain, Mexico and the United States.

Meantime, effective immediately, Alberta will now be asking any travellers who have visited Italy in the last 14 days to self-isolate until two weeks have passed since that visit. Similar precautions are already in place for travellers returning from Iran and Hubei province, China.

Hinshaw says all travellers returning from outside Canada should monitor their health for 14 days after coming home. If they develop symptoms, they should self-isolate immediately and call Health Link 811.

While the risk of catching COVID-19 within the province remains low at this time, officials say this may change in the future.

Albertans are encouraged to visit alberta.ca/COVID19 for the latest information. Hinshaw says the site will be updated twice daily.