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Tuesday update

Number of COVID-19 cases in Red Deer holds steady at 32

Apr 14, 2020 | 4:55 PM

Alberta’s chief medical officer is reporting 138 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total to 1870.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw says 914 Albertans have now recovered after being infected with the virus, meaning 956 cases are considered to be active.

Two additional deaths from COVID-19 were reported, bringing Alberta’s total to 48. One was a resident of the McKenzie Towne continuing care facility in Calgary, which has now seen 21 COVID-19 deaths, and the other a resident of a care facility in Edmonton.

Hinshaw says 214 cases of Alberta’s cases, including 30 deaths, have now occurred at continuing care facilities.

“While we can start to become numb to these numbers as time goes on, each one of these individuals had a life that mattered and people who love them,” said Hinshaw. “It is in order to prevent further losses that we are focusing measures on these high-risk areas.”

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Central zone remains 74, including 32 in Red Deer (11 active, 21 recovered), 12 cases in Red Deer County (4 active), four cases in Lacombe County (all recovered), two in Lacombe (both recovered), three cases in Stettler County (two active), and one recovered case in both Clearwater County and Ponoka County.

Alberta conducted 2868 COVID-19 tests over the last 24 hours.

“While we are seeing a steady rise in recovered cases in the province, we should also expect to see a rise of cases in the coming days as a result of expanded testing,” Hinshaw explained.

She acknowledged that some are experiencing fatigue about COVID-19 and how officials are responding.

“For all of us I wonder if one of the hardest things to mange is the uncertainty looking forward and the fact that we can’t yet make plans for when life will return to more normalcy. COVID-19 is an unprecedented pandemic and it has impacted every one of us. We are all grieving in some way,” Hinshaw said, saying anger, bargaining, denial and depression are normal reactions and responses to the situation and changes being faced.

With the increased testing providing more robust data, Hinshaw said she hopes to be able to provide “more structured timelines soon” for the Emergency Management Coordination Committee of cabinet to consider next steps going forward.

(With file from Dori Modney, Lethbridge News Now)