By Chris Brown

48 new cases

COVID-19 cases mount in Alberta, no change in Medicine Hat or Brooks

Jun 17, 2020 | 3:52 PM

The number of COVID-19 cases in southeastern Alberta remains stagnant as cases rise across the province.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw confirmed another 48 cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 7,530. She said a total of 6,893 Albertans have recovered and there are now 486 active cases.

Case counts in Medicine Hat remain unchanged, with one active case and 35 recovered.

Brooks has 1,118 total cases, with 1,108 recovered, one active case and nine deaths.

In the South Zone, there are seven new cases for a total of 1,284. There are 29 active cases, 1,245 recovered cases and nine deaths.

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There are currently 38 Albertans in hospital, seven of which are in ICU. Hinshaw had no new deaths to announce.

Hinshaw said the spread of the virus remains relatively stable and soon Albertans will not need such regular updates from her.

“This is because the onus is increasingly on all Albertans to protect each other,” she said, encouraging everyone to continue to take responsibility for their actions and support each other,” she said.

The chief medical officer of health said she’s heard many Albertans are experiencing anxiety since the province moved into Stage 2 of relaunch on June 12.

“There is no one perfect way to respond to this challenge, and every path we could choose will have risks of some kind,” said Hinshaw.

A recent survey from the Centre for Addiction and Mental health found one in five Canadians reported moderate to severe anxiety due to factors such as job loss or fear of the virus.

Hinshaw said feelings of anxiety are normal and sleeping well, connecting safely with loved ones, exercising and meditating are all practices that can reduce anxiety.

She added anxiety and fear are part of our built-in mechanisms to keep us safe and a small dose of worry can be a reminder of why following public health measures is so important.

“The challenge to maintain checks and balances on the level of worry by anchoring to facts and knowing that collectively we have the ability to create safe and thriving communities,” Hinshaw said, adding TEXT4HOPE is a simple way to get support.

Hinshaw said Albertans should still keep summer travel plans only within the province, and that anyone considering inter-provincial travel should know all details about COVID-19 restrictions within that province.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw will provide another in-person update on Friday.

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

Cypress County is showing zero active cases and 21 recovered, while the County of Newell is showing zero active cases and 20 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 no cases on the map. There was previously one recovered case and one death attributed to the region.

The City of Lethbridge has 36 cases, seven listed as active and 29. Lethbridge County has three cases currently considered active.

Read the full June 17 update from the provonce here.