By Troy Gillard

"significant" variant outbreak linked to worksites

Alberta surpasses 10,000 active COVID-19 cases

Apr 5, 2021 | 3:38 PM

Active cases of COVID-19 in Alberta have surpassed the 10,000-mark.

The latest numbers released Monday show there are 10,582 across the province.

This after 887 new cases were reported over the past 24 hours out of 9,102 tests for a positivity rate of 9.7 per cent.

Among the new cases, 432 positive tests, or 48.7 per cent, were variants.

4,145 active cases (39.2% of total) in Alberta have been identified as variants of concern.

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There are 312 Albertans in hospital because of COVID-19, including 76 in intensive care.

Four new deaths linked to COVID-19 were reported in the past day, including two in the Edmonton Zone and one each in the Calgary and Central zones. To date, 1,998 Albertans have died as a result of the virus.

Red Deer has 220 active cases of COVID-19 as of Monday. That’s up from 209 on Thursday.

There have been 2,950 recoveries, an increase of 51 as the total number of cases attributed to Red Deer rose by 62 over the long weekend to 3,204. The number of deaths in Red Deer stemming from COVID-19 remains 34.

Elsewhere locally as of Monday:

Red Deer County – 41 active cases

Sylvan Lake – 26

Lacombe County – 45

Lacombe – 44

Ponoka County – 170

Brazeau County – 14

Clearwater County – 9

Mountain View County – 31

Olds – 29

Kneehill County – 17

County of Stettler – 5

The Central Zone has 874 active cases with 32 hospitalizations, including five receiving intensive care at Red Deer Regional Hospital.

707,482 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Alberta as of the end of April 4.

Over the Easter long weekend while providing only preliminary updates, Dr. Deena Hinshaw revealed the province was investigating a ‘significant’ outbreak involving a variant of concern.

She gave more details in a Twitter thread on Monday, saying the outbreak appears linked to a large employer with multiple sites across Western Canada.

“The outbreak started with a traveller returning to Alberta from out of province. To date, the spread has been confined to 3 work sites in Central and North Zone, where employees travelled between sites,” Hinshaw tweeted.

“We have now identified 26 COVID-19 cases linked to employees at these three sites, and their household contacts. So far, only 3 are confirmed P1 cases, but this will likely increase as more results come in.”

Hinshaw says AHS has been working with the operator and cases to ensure anyone at risk of exposure to offer testing and quarantines to limit the spread. She says that includes employees at other sites who may have been exposed. Anyone at risk is being directly contacted and supported.

The chief medical officer of health also said there is a separate, unrelated P.1 outbreak reported at a workplace in Calgary Zone. Five cases are currently linked to this outbreak, including one confirmed case of the P.1 variant. Health officials are also working with the employer and supporting anyone at risk.