Active cases in Alberta nearly down to 1,000

There remain 1,090 total cases in Brooks. There are 70 active cases, 1,013 recovered and seven deaths.

Medicine Hat remains at 35 cases, 30 recovered and five active. No deaths have been recorded in Medicine Hat.

The chief medical officer of health had no deaths to announce on Tuesday. That number remains at 128. She said there are 61 Albertans currently in hospital, eight of whom are in the ICU.

“While it is too early to see the full impact of relaunch, so far our numbers in the province have held steady,” Hinshaw said. “We have not seen any increase so far in Calgary and Brooks, and overall as I mentioned cases are stable.”

Hinshaw said everyone must remember that being safe while relaunching the economy can save lives.

“The virus is still with us, and we must do everything we can to prevent the spread at home, when we are out and when we are at work.”

She said working remotely where possible is recommended until Stage 2 of the relaunch and again directed business owners to the Alberta Biz Connect site for guidance. She also said completing the online template is now recommended but not mandatory.

Hinshaw said we must continue to protect each other as the relaunch progresses and that public health orders remain in place for that reason, including limits on outdoor (50 people maximum) and indoor gatherings (15 people maximum), and isolating when feeling ill and maintaining physical distancing.

“These actions continue to be necessary to prevent a surge in cases as we reopen our economy,” she said adding that even as that happens society will not go back to the way it was prior to the pandemic. “We are moving forward while continuing to be cautious.”

Health Minister Tyler Shandro announced funding of more than $14 million per month for seniors’ facilities to cover enhanced staffing, costs of cleaning supplies and loss of accommodation revenue due to vacant beds and rent freezes.

He added the funding will be maintained “throughout all stages of Alberta’s relaunch, until the public health orders are lifted and the threat of COVID-19 has passed.”

More than 70 per cent of the COVID-19 deaths in Alberta have been in seniors’ facilities.

Hinshaw announced on May 15 that she would begin scaling back on the in-person updates she provides. Her next update will happen on Thursday, but numbers will be updated at alberta.ca.

On May 11, the province began putting a more detailed chart online for each zone.

The County of Newell has 14 cases, three active and 11 recovered.

In Cypress County, they are reporting 10 cases of COVID-19, three active and seven recovered.

The County of Forty Mile and Municipal District of Taber each have two confirmed cases both listed as recovered.

Special Areas No. 2 has two confirmed cases, one recovered and one death.

The City of Lethbridge has 24 cases, seven listed as active and 17 recovered. Lethbridge County has one recorded recovered case.

Read the full May 19 update from the province here.

by Chris Brown

Active cases in Alberta nearly down to 1,000

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