By Chris Brown

Testing available to everyone

No new COVID-19 cases in Medicine Hat or Brooks

Jun 3, 2020 | 3:50 PM

Alberta has recorded another 19 cases of COVID-19 and seen 50 more recoveries.

In her Wednesday update, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said that there are now just 344 active cases in the province and 6,587 recovered cases.

There were no new cases confirmed in Medicine Hat or Brooks, which remain at 42 and 1,095, respectively. Medicine Hat now has five active cases and 37 recovered. Brooks has five active cases, 1,082 recovered and eight deaths.

The total number of cases in Alberta is now at 7,076. Hinshaw also announced another two deaths, bringing the total to 145. There are currently 48 Albertans in hospital due to COVID-19, six of which are in ICU.

Hinshaw said discussions are still taking place about moving Stage 2 of relaunch forward from its current June 19 date, and that a final decision could come early next week.

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“We are now in our fourth month of pandemic response, and we continue to take steps as a province, as communities and as individuals to prevent the spread of infection,” the chief medical officer of health said, adding she’s been inspired by the ingenuity and generosity of communities.

Hinshaw went on to recognize a few of the Indigenous communities in the province who have increased supports for their people.

Hinshaw also explained “serological or anti-body testing,” which detects the presence of antibodies in a person’s blood. A positive test means the person contract COVID-19 in the past but has recovered. She said there is not enough evidence to conclusively determine if a person who previously contracted COVID-19 would subsequently be immune to it.

“This is a key research question for scientists around the world. Until we have this evidence it is not possible to determine who is immune or for how long,” said Hinshaw, urging people to be cautious of home serology tests, saying they may not be accurate.

Hinshaw said the focus of the province remains on identifying active infections and preventing the spread.

“I want to remind all Albertans that this molecular testing is now available to everyone, whether or not you have symptoms,” she said and encourage all Albertans to participate in the population-based testing.

“We are still learning about the virus but some things remain clear,” she said. “Our best tools of defence right now remain staying home when sick, maintaining physical distance when we go out and wearing a mask in crowded spaces, frequently washing our hands and making sure that we support each other in taking these steps.”

Hinshaw will provide her next in-person update on Friday. The province will update the statistics online Thursday.

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

The County of Newell has 15 cases, one active and 14 recovered.

Cypress County has 18 cases, seven active and 11 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 28 cases, one listed as active and 27 recovered. Lethbridge County has one recorded recovered case.

Read the full June 3 update from the province here.