By Chris Brown

'Virus doesn't respect our feelings'

Brooks COVID-19 cases near 400, Medicine Hat cases now at 23

Apr 24, 2020 | 3:51 PM

Alberta has seen another 297 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, pushing the provincial total to more than 4,000. The total now sits at 4,017.

An additional 40 people have recovered, bringing that total to 1,397.

There have been five more deaths, bringing that total to 72.

The South Zone now has a 444 cases. The case count in Brooks rose by 78 to 389. There are 387 active cases in Brooks, and two deaths which were announced yesterday.

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Dr. Deena Hinshaw said outbreaks like the ones at the JBS meat packing plant in Brooks and Cargill in High River can not be viewed in isolation at the worksites.

“We need to look at the whole picture and support people in every single setting of their lives whether that’s at there homes whether that’s their carpooling, their transportation, whether it’s at their worksite,” said the chief medical officer of health.

She said her colleagues in the South Zone are working with community stakeholders to make sure supports are in place.

The County of Newell has four active cases.

In Medicine Hat, the number of cases has risen by three to 23 confirmed cases. There are now 12 cases considered active and 11 are listed as recovered.

Cypress County still has eight cases, three active and five recovered. The County of Forty Mile and the MD of Taber each have just two cases, all recovered.

In terms of hospitalizations across the province, 76 people are in hospital with 18 admitted to ICU.

Hinshaw spoke to the many comments she heard from Albertans who are “profoundly disappointed or even angry” about her statements about summer events yesterday. Many of those comments revolve around Albertans being asked to give up their summer events when no one knows that the situation will be in one or two months, concerns she said shear hears loud and clear.

She acknowledged that the curve shown in the modelling released in early April showed the virus going away in early summer.

“That is not the case. The virus that causes COVID-19 will be with us for months to come, and the relatively low case numbers we are seeing in most of the province are the result of our collective efforts and sacrifices.”

Hinshaw said plainly that COVID-19 is still with us and it spreads rapidly. She pointed to the bonspiel in Edmonton in March as one example where the virus was spread to others by a person who didn’t know they had it, and that some large gatherings saw more than 80 per cent of attendees infected. Those people then unknowingly infected others.

“We are starting to map out the ripple effects of spreads started by these gatherings,” adding they happened before fully understanding the reality of transmission before the onset of symptoms.

“The kinds of social gatherings we are used to, even in the summer, can result in significant spread of the virus from just one person who may not even know they are infected,” she said. “The results can be explosive, far-reaching and deadly.”

She said Albertans have already been asked to give up so much to fight the pandemic and it doesn’t seem to fair to ask for more.

“Unfortunately this virus doesn’t respect our feelings. We have no easy options, we only have each other and our commitment to protect one another by continuing to make sacrifices,” said Hinshaw.

Read the full April 24 update from the province here.