By Troy Gillard

quarantine rules updated for vaccinated Albertans

Red Deer down to 548 active COVID cases

May 20, 2021 | 4:13 PM

Red Deer’s active COVID-19 case count dropped again on Thursday.

The latest numbers from the province show the city with 548 active cases, a drop of 57 from Wednesday’s 605.

Recoveries are up 75 to 4,811 as the total number of COVID-19 cases attributed to Red Deer rose by 18 to 5,398.

Red Deer’s death toll stemming from COVID-19 remains 39.

The latest figures as of end of day May 19 show 46,768 Red Deerians have received at least one dose of vaccine, including 7,793 who are fully vaccinated with two doses.

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Elsewhere locally as of Thursday (by municipality):

Red Deer County: 149 (down 19 from Wednesday)

Sylvan Lake: 98 (-8)

Lacombe County: 121 (-10)

Lacombe: 98 (-1)

Ponoka County: 102 (-12)

Brazeau County: 40 (-7)

Clearwater County: 82 (-3)

Mountain View County: 53 (-4)

Olds: 45 (-6)

Kneehill County: 27 (+1)

County of Stettler: 53 (-5)

The Central Zone has 1,814 active cases as of Thursday, a decrease of 164 in the past 24 hours. There are 66 hospitalizations, down one, and 15 people are now receiving intensive care for COVID-19 at Red Deer Regional Hospital, up two. The zone has had 150 deaths linked to the virus.

Province-wide, Alberta reported another 812 cases of COVID-19 out of 9,038 test results for a positivity rate of about nine per cent.

The number of active cases in the province is down to 17,765, down 1,138 from Wednesday, while recoveries are up 1,946 to 202,442.

There are now 665 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, a drop of 20 from Wednesday. There are 177 people in the ICU, down eight, and there have been four more deaths linked to the virus bringing the province’s total to 2,162.

Alberta has delivered 2,312,821 doses of COVID-19 vaccine through May 19, including 40,866 yesterday. Almost 51 per cent of Albertans 12 and over have now received at least one dose with 335,482 fully immunized with two doses.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw said the response from Albertans to get their COVID-19 vaccine is “incredibly encouraging” and that real progress is being made.

“We know that vaccines save lives and they significantly reduce the likelihood of infection. We also know there is good short-term protection in those who’ve received just one dose of a two-dose series,” she said at her Thursday COVID-19 update.

She said many are looking for a plan to ease restrictions as vaccinations increase and she expects more details to be released in the next week or so.

Changes are being made to the quarantine requirements in Alberta, said Hinshaw. Currently, close contacts of a confirmed case need to isolate for 14 days.

“Beginning today, fully-vaccinated individuals who have had their second dose of vaccine at least two weeks prior will no longer have to quarantine at all if they are exposed to a confirmed positive case,” she said, as long as they have no symptoms at all.

Those who have symptoms will still be required to isolate and be tested, and will then have to follow the necessary rules based on the outcome of the test.

Individuals without symptoms who have received one dose and are a close contact of a confirmed case will now only have to isolate for 10 days.

More details are available on the province’s isolation and quarantine requirements webpage.

Hinshaw encouraged people to make this the best May long weekend ever, and asked all Albertans not to these next few days off from following the rules.

“If we all stay vigilant and do our part just one more time this may be the least long weekend that such sacrifices are necessary,” she said.

(With file from Chris Brown – CHAT News Today)