Red Deer with 355 active COVID-19 cases, Alberta surpasses 20,000

There are now 609 people in hospital in Alberta because of COVID-19, an increase of eight. That includes 108 people in ICU, also an increase of eight from Sunday.

The province reported another 16 deaths related to COVID-19 over the last 24 hours to bring the total to 631. Six of the deaths are linked to an outbreak at the Edmonton Chinatown Care Centre.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said the deaths are a “tragic reminder of the power of the virus and why it is vital that we slow the spread.”

In Red Deer, the number of active cases has reached 355, a new record and an increase of 20 from Sunday. Recovered cases are up 15 to 472 as the total number of cases attributed to the city has risen by 35 to 787.

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Red Deer County has risen by one to 82, while Sylvan Lake saw its active case count hold steady at 64.

Clearwater County (Rocky Mountain House) has 63 active cases, an increase of seven.

Lacombe County has 63 active cases as of Monday, an increase of six, while Lacombe has 47, a decrease of one.

Ponoka County saw its active case count rise by 20 to sit at 207.

Mountain View County has 27 active cases, Olds has 29, and Kneehill County has 12. Starland County remains with four active cases, while the County of Stettler has 19.

Across the Central zone there are now 1,473 active cases. There are 47 hospitalizations in the zone, including five in intensive care. The number of deaths in the Central zone related to COVID-19 has reached 19.

Concerned with the rising numbers across the province, Dr. Hinshaw on Monday encouraged Albertans to keep them in mind when incorporating the restrictions into their daily lives.

“The small changes that we all make have tremendous power,” said the chief medical officer of health, saying they stop the virus from spreading and break transmission chains. “At the same time, the small bending of the rules – the one-time social get-togethers with extended family and parties with friends – have the power to undo the hard work of so many within just a few minutes.”

She also said the province will begin piloting point-of-care rapid testing at COVID-19 assessment centres in St. Paul and Slave Lake and at one centre in each of Calgary and Edmonton.

These tests will provide faster, more convenient testing for the disease, said Hinshaw.

The tests are used on people who are within the first seven days of showing symptoms, reducing the needs for samples to be transported for testing.

“I must remind everyone that in those without symptoms, the rapid tests are less accurate. In addition, they are less sensitive than the usual test, so those who have symptoms and test negative with the rapid test will still need to isolate while waiting for their results through the molecular lab testing,” she said.

The test offers faster identification of positive cases, which will allow health care teams to prioritize the cases that are still infectious and focus where the greatest impact will be on preventing further transmission.

Positive cases can be identified and notified in just a few hours, said Hinshaw, speeding up the appropriate care and isolation of patients.

Work is underway to expand point-of-care testing to other centres across the province, including long-term care facilities and shelters.

With people being asked to stay at home, the chief medical officer of health said clarified the restrictions for those who live alone.

Anyone who lives alone is permitted to socialize indoors with two close contacts as long as they are the same close contacts for the duration of the restrictions, said Hinshaw.

The two contacts do not need to be from the same household and do not need to be living on their own.

“But if you choose a close contact who has other individuals living in their home, indoor gatherings must take place in your home to limit person-to-person contact,” she said.

On Monday, Normandeau School in Red Deer announced it is going to online learning only as of Tuesday in response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases affecting the school.

Also on Monday, Clearview Public Schools gave notice that an individual tested positive for COVID-19, impacting students and staff at Wm. E. Hay Stettler Secondary Campus in Stettler.

“This individual was present in the school November 23 during the period they may have been contagious,” division officials said. “In collaboration with Alberta Health Services, we will be contacting only those parents/guardians of students and staff who have been in close contact with the individual who tested positive for COVID-19. A school administrator will be phoning you and following up with a formal letter. Note that there will be no quarantining expected or mandated due to the fact that if there was any exposure, it was two weeks ago. If you have not been contacted by 5:00 p.m. Monday, December 7, your child has not had close contact with this individual.”

Currently, 414 Alberta schools, about 18 per cent, are on alert or have outbreaks, with 1,644 cases in total. Of those, 177 schools are on alert, with 282 total cases. Outbreaks are declared in 237 schools, including 106 on watch, with a total of 1,362 cases. So far, in-school transmission has likely occurred in 286 schools. Of these, 136 have had only one new case result.

by Troy Gillard

Red Deer with 355 active COVID-19 cases, Alberta surpasses 20,000

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