By Troy Gillard

One additional death reported Monday

Kenney says Alberta’s COVID-19 projection will include “very challenging numbers”

Apr 6, 2020 | 4:16 PM

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he will deliver a televised address Tuesday night where he will share projections regarding COVID-19 in Alberta.

“Albertans want to know the real numbers. So beginning tomorrow night we will provide some of the modelling done by Alberta Health Services that shows us when we might hit the peak and how well-prepared we are for that,” Kenney said Monday during a news conference. “I ask people to be prepared for what can be some very challenging numbers as we look as the prospective that this virus can still do in our province.”

Kenney said the province will provide more details on Wednesday about the models and projections that are being undertaken by AHS, as well as on how well-stocked Alberta is when it comes to medical supplies and the capacity of the health system to take on COVID-19.

As of Monday, Alberta is reporting 1348 cases of COVID-19 (953 laboratory confirmed, 395 probable), an increase of 98 from Sunday.

There has been one additional death from COVID-19 in Alberta, bringing the province’s total to 24. The latest fatality is a woman in her 80s in Calgary zone. She is the 11^th person from the McKenzie Towne care facility to die from COVID-19.

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A total of 361 people in Alberta have now recovered from COVID-19.

Alberta has seen 40 hospitalizations due to COVID-19, including 16 intensive care patients.

“I would say this is one of the most encouraging signs about our performance so far in Alberta with our high level of testing but also the relatively lower levels of hospitalizations and ICU admissions,” said Kenney, who described the number of hospitalizations as “low and manageable.”

Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Monday that as many as 204 of Alberta’s cases may be from community transmission, an increase of 52 from Sunday.

The number of cases reported in Central zone sits at 66, including 25 in Red Deer. No additional deaths have been reported in Central zone after a woman in her eighties was reported as the region’s first COVID-19 fatality on Sunday.

Of the 25 cases reported in Red Deer, 13 remain active while the province says 12 have recovered.

“We can be thankful here in Alberta that we have not seen anything like the numbers experienced in those other jurisdictions,” Kenney added in reference to places like Spain and the U.S. “Our relative success in controlling the spread is a tribute to the swift implementation of our effective pandemic response plan by Alberta Health Services and to the skill, efforts and courage of our battalions of front-line health workers who saving lives every day in the fight against coronavirus.”

Kenney announced measures to ensure Alberta will maintain an adequate supply of the three main types of protective masks – the respirator mask (N95 or equivalent), a procedural mask, and low-protection homemade cloth or store bought dust masks. Kenney says the government is undertaking a mass procurement of non-medical masks to help keep Albertans safe.

The premier also praised the essential services workers and all Albertans who are stepping up, including those practicing rigorous hygiene, staying home as much as possible and keeping a safe physical distance from others. He also noted the Bits and Pieces program has seen a spike in offers since Friday, tripling to nearly 3,000 over the weekend.

Kenney says the legislature will reconvene Tuesday morning to consider further amendments to the Emergency Management Act in response to requests from municipalities seeking further clarity regarding their authorities respective to the provincial government, as well as certain enforcement measures under the act.