By Troy Gillard

WEDNESDAY UPDATE

Alberta down to 344 active COVID-19 cases

Jun 3, 2020 | 3:57 PM

A total of 6,587 people in Alberta that contracted COVID-19 have now recovered.

There remain 344 active cases in the province, according to Wednesday’s update from Dr. Deena Hinshaw. That’s 33 less than Tuesday.

There are now 48 people are in Alberta hospitals because of the novel coronavirus, including six in intensive care.

Out of 4,997 tests completed at the provincial lab over the past 24 hours, 19 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed for a total of 7,076.

Hinshaw reported two additional virus-related deaths on Wednesday, bringing Alberta’s total to 145.

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The numbers for the Central zone remain unchanged at 98 total cases, including none that are active.

Red Deer region case numbers as of Wednesday:

City of Red Deer 37 (0 active, 37 recovered)

Red Deer County 15 (0 active, 15 recovered)

Sylvan Lake 3 (0 active, 3 recovered)

Lacombe County (0 active, 3 recovered)

City of Lacombe 2 (0 active, 2 recovered)

Ponoka County 3 (0 active, 3 recovered)

Clearwater County 2 (0 active, 2 recovered)

County of Stettler 2 (0 active, 2 recovered)

Mountain View County 9 (0 active, 9 recovered)

“We are now in our fourth month of pandemic response, and we continue to steps as a province, as communities and as individuals to prevent the spread of infection,” Hinshaw said Wednesday, adding she’s been inspired by the ingenuity and generosity of communities.

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health also explained “serological or anti-body testing,” which detects the presence of antibodies in a person’s blood. A positive test means the person contract COVID-19 in the past but has recovered. She said there is not enough evidence to conclusively determine if a person who previously contracted COVID-19 would subsequently be immune to it.

“This is a key research question for scientists around the world. Until we have this evidence it is not possible to determine who is immune or for how long,” said Hinshaw, urging people to be cautious of home serology tests, saying they may not be accurate.

Hinshaw said the focus of the province remains on identifying active infections and preventing the spread.

“I want to remind all Albertans that this molecular testing is now available to everyone, whether or not you have symptoms,” she said and encourage all Albertans to participate in the population-based testing.

“We are still learning about the virus but some things remain clear,” she said. “Our best tools of defence right now remain staying home when sick, maintaining physical distance when we go out and wearing a mask in crowded spaces, frequently washing our hands and making sure that we support each other in taking these steps.”

(With file from Chris Brown)