Two deaths in Brooks confirmed as COVID-19 cases

Alberta has confirmed another 319 cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the provincial total to 3,720. An additional 47 people have recovered, bringing that total to 1,357.

The South Zone now has a 359 cases. The case count in Brooks rose by 54 to 311, all active. Of those, 124 cases in employees and contractors at JBS Foods in Brooks.

The County of Newell has two active cases.

In Medicine Hat, the number of cases has gone up by one to 20 confirmed cases. There are now nine cases considered active and 11 are listed as recovered.

Cypress County still has eight cases, with three moving from active to recovered for a total of four in in each. The County of Forty Mile and the MD of Taber each have just two cases, all recovered.

There has been a total of 117,404 tests completed.

In terms of hospitalizations across the province, 70 people are in hospital with 18 admitted to ICU.

“We continue to do everything possible to limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect the public health,” said Hinshaw, adding her greatest concerns now are outbreaks at JBS, at the Cargill meat plant in High River, which has 480 confirmed cases, and at continuing care centres across the province, where there are 390 confirmed cases.

“We are working to ensure that every outbreak has aggressive intervention as soon as it is identified. so that it can end as soon as possible,” she said. “For every outbreak we must identify all cases as soon as possible, identify all locations where spread may be occurring and put measures in place to stop that spread in all locations.”

Hinshaw added the long incubation period of COVID-19 means new cases will continue to appear from exposures that happened before outbreak measures were put in place.

Alberta’s top doctor re-iterated the importance of not having mass gatherings, as those are the places where a single case can spread like wildfire, and gave clarification on the public health orders.

“The mass gathering restrictions currently in place also apply to all summer events or festivals in Alberta.” She said no gatherings of more than 15 people are allowed and people must stay at least two metres apart at any gatherings of fewer than 15 people.

The Calgary Stampede and Edmonton’s K-Days festival were both cancelled on Thursday. A decision has yet to be made by Medicine Hat Exhibition & Stampede officials regarding the local event, though Hinshaw made the status of the event clear.

“By providing this clarification now, I hope that organizers will be able to provide advance notice to help them limit unreasonable expenditures and cancel contracts in a timely manner,” she said.

“I know summer festivals and events are incredibly important for many people,” she said, noting they provide fun and entertainment and many people depend on them for livelihood. “This decision was not made lightly but we must do everything we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

“Please continue to hold to the measures we need to take together to protect each other.”

Hinshaw encouraged Albertans to take advantage of the outside activities they can take part in while remaining safe and physically distant, including walks, bike rides and working in community gardens.

She also asked all Albertans to “use their common sense” and apply the public health measures to whatever they are doing inside and out.

“These next few weeks are important. Our ability to maintain physical distancing and stop the spread is the key to continuing to flatten the curve and be able to move forward.”

She added Alberta Health Services is in the final testing phase of a contact tracing app that will be available in the coming weeks. The app will speed up the contact tracing health officials undertake when someone tests positive.

The app will be voluntary, will not track Albertans locations and the data is stored on phones, not with the government, she said. The app has been used successfully in Singapore and South Korea.

Hinshaw finished by telling Albertans that “we are each other’s best defense.”

“In the face of a pandemic like COVID, equipment and technology are essential. But so is community and kindness. We have come so far together, and we can stay the course if we lean on each other.”

Hinshaw said Alberta health officials are working with counterparts in neighbouring provinces about economic relaunches to ensure co-ordination and minimization the chances of interprovincial spread. Saskatchewan revealed its five-phase reopening plan Thursday.

Read the full April 23 update from the province here.

by Chris Brown

Two deaths in Brooks confirmed as COVID-19 cases

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