By Troy Gillard

WEDNESDAY UPDATE

Hinshaw recommends COVID-19 testing for school staff as Alberta records 121 new cases

Aug 12, 2020 | 4:30 PM

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health is recommending all teachers and school staff be tested for COVID-19 before returning to school and then regularly through the school year.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw says the testing will not be mandatory for the approximately 90,000 workers and is asking others without symptoms to hold off from being tested so educators can get results.

“I believe that when everyone in the school community does their part, we can limit the number of cases and keep children, staff and teachers as safe as possible,” she said.

Hinshaw says children should only be tested if they have symptoms or preexisting medical conditions.

“This is because, in students, our priority is to make testing available with ongoing mild symptoms that may mimic COVID-19 such as allergies,” she explained. “All parents should monitor children for new symptoms. This is part of the daily routine that all parents must start getting used to.”

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Alberta reported 121 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday to bring the province’s total to 11,893.

The number of active cases in the province sits at 1,044 and recoveries have reached 10,632.

The number of hospitalizations in Alberta from COVID-19 has lowered to 50, 12 less than Tuesday, including 13 in intensive care.

The province conducted 8,024 tests in the past 24 hours.

An additional death has been reported at the Good Samaritan Southgate Care Centre in Edmonton, bringing Alberta’s fatality count from the novel coronavirus to 217.

The number of active cases in the Central Zone is 92, seven less than Tuesday’s update, while recoveries have increased by six to 448. There are 10 hospitalizations in the zone, none of whom are intensive care.

In Red Deer the number of active cases has fallen by four and now sits at 10. The number of recoveries has increased correspondingly by four to 57.

Elsewhere in the Central Zone:

Red Deer County: 3 active, 23 recovered

Sylvan Lake: 0 active, 9 recovered

Rocky Mountain House: 0 active, 3 recovered

Innisfail: 2 active, 3 recovered

County of Stettler: 6 active, 38 recovered

Lacombe: 2 active, 3 recovered

Lacombe County: 4 active, 14 recovered

Ponoka: 0 active, 7 recovered

Ponoka County: 1 active, 11 recovered

Olds: 0 active, 5 recovered

Didsbury: 1 active, 6 recovered

Mountain View County: 1 active, 7 recovered

The map showing all active cases can be found here.

At the start of her update on Wednesday, Dr. Hinshaw shared her condolences to family of friends of Dr. Walter Reynolds, who died tragically in Red Deer on Monday.

“We are all shaken by this tragic event,” she said. “Though this was an isolated incident it leaves a mark on all healthcare professionals as we wonder about the safety of our own work places and the personalized patient care that is the bedrock of our profession.”