Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health. (Government of Alberta)

By Chris Brown / CHAT News Today

Still Learning About Omicron

Hinshaw: No new Omicron variant cases found in Alberta

Dec 7, 2021 | 5:03 PM

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health says there is no change today in the number of Omicron variant cases but expects that won’t be the case for long.

“Given our current aggressive testing program, it is likely we will continue to detect more cases and respond to them as we have to date,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw at her update today.

She later said that while we are still learning about the Omicron variant’s transmissibility and severity, this is not the first time a variant of concern has emerged in Alberta and it won’t be the last.

“We will not stop transmission. Our goal is to slow initial spread to give us more time to learn about the variant,” she said.

Hinshaw said news of a new variant is not welcome news to Albertans, but sounded a positive note based on previous experiences and all the information about Omicron currently available.

mayor hopes to meet housing minister this month

Alberta demands Ottawa back off on housing funding stripped from Red Deer

14h ago

Last seen Jan. 15

Missing: Courtney Cattleman, 17, of Maskwacis

19h ago

eyes up

Air Spray training around Red Deer Regional Airport

20h ago

“I am confident that vaccines and our tried and true routines will continue to help us protect one another against COVID-19.”

Hinshaw says they are watching Omicron and its spread closely and that no decisions have been made about potential restrictions during the holidays.

COVID wastewater testing is also underway in the province. Hinshaw said It involves taking samples from treatment plants and running lab tests to look for evidence of the virus.

She said that allows the province to monitor for the prevalence of COVID-19 in a given area and acts as a type of early warning system. She said the amount of virus detected in wastewater has been low and stable across the province since November, with only an occasional spike in some communities.

A website will be launched later this week for people interested.

Hinshaw said mitigation strategies are still in place in schools, including mandatory masking for students in Grades 4-12 and staff in all schools and child care settings and recommended masking for students in Kindergarten to Grade 3. Cohorting and daily screening are also used and anyone with symptoms must isolate and be tested through AHS

The province’s top doctor also urged people to get booster shots if eligible, and that as of Monday all Albertans 60 and older who are six months from their second dose are eligible.

Among new cases today, 38.5 per cent are unvaccinated, 3.7 per cent are partially vaccinated and 57.8 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Among current hospitalizations, 63.3 per cent are unvaccinated, 3.3 per cent are partially vaccinated and 32.4 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Province-wide, 82.3 per cent of Albertans five years old and up have received at least one dose of vaccine and 76.5 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Among Alberta’s total population, 77.3 per cent have received at least one dose of vaccine and 71.9 per cent are fully vaccinated.