By Troy Gillard

alberta adds record number of cases, aga

Red Deer down to 32 active COVID-19 cases

Oct 22, 2020 | 4:01 PM

The number of active cases of COVID-19 in Red Deer continues to drop.

There are 32 active cases in the city as of Thursday, according to the latest online update from the province, a decrease of five from Wednesday.

Red Deer has now had 125 recoveries from the virus, an increase of six, and the total of number of cases the city has seen has increased by one to 157.

Red Deer County has nine active cases as of Thursday, an increase of one, while Sylvan Lake remains with none. Lacombe County has nine active cases (down one) and the city of Lacombe has five (down one).

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Ponoka County now has 35 active cases, a decrease of five from Wednesday, but remains under a provincial COVID-19 Watch with a rate of 127.4 cases per 100,000 people.

Elsewhere, the County of Stettler has seven active cases (unchanged), Mountain View County has four (down one) and the town of Olds has four (unchanged).

Across the Central Zone there are 126 active cases, down 14 from Wednesday.

The total number of active cases in Alberta sits at 3,519, an increase of 147.

For the second straight day, Alberta set a single-day record with 427 new cases of COVID-19. The total number of cases across the province stands at 23,829.

More than 20,000 Albertans (20,014) have now recovered from the virus. There are 112 hospitalizations as of Thursday, including 18 in intensive care. There have been 296 deaths, no increase from Wednesday.

Alberta completed 14,304 tests for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, was asked again Thursday about whether it’s a good idea for kids to go trick or treating this Halloween.

Hinshaw flagged key pointers about celebrating Halloween but doing so in a safe manner. She said to avoid large gatherings, keep celebrations to your household and cohort and stay home and don’t hand out treats if you are feeling ill.

“Halloween is for bringing home treats, not viruses,” she said, adding she believes trick-or-treating is a safe activity if done outdoors and within a household group. She urged masks to be worn, keep distance and find creative ways to hand out pre-packaged candy only.

Following a quick turnaround of test results for Premier Jason Kenney, Hinshaw said some key decision-makers are on a list for expedited tests and that Kenney is on that list as well as Hinshaw herself.

Two weeks have passed since voluntary measures were introduced in the Edmonton Zone and there has been a decline in the growth rate. Hinshaw called that proof that collectively, by making simple changes “we can reduce transmission and bend the curve.”

New surge capacity measures are being introduced in Edmonton to support patients as the number of frontline health-care personnel off due to quarantine restriction. Non-urgent surgeries and some ambulatory care clinic visits are being postponed. Hinshaw said the measures could be expanded to other parts of the province dealing with a rise in cases.

She said much of that rise is attributed to gatherings over Thanksgiving.

“People did not mean to spread COVID, but it is a reminder that social gatherings where distancing and masking are not used consistently are a significant risk for spread.”