Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

By Alex McCuaig

No changes in Medicine Hat

New cases a ‘wake up call’ for province, says Alberta’s top doc

Jul 23, 2020 | 3:52 PM

EDMONTON – There are no new COVID-19 cases in Medicine Hat, but a sharp rise in the number of active cases across the province should be seen as a “wake up call,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw during her Thursday update.

“Now is the time to act,” said Hinshaw, stating the most recent numbers reflect trends that developed two weeks ago. And even if all public health rules were strictly followed today, the province will likely still see a continuation of the trend into August.

Hinshaw says active cases have risen from 590 to nearly 1,300 in recent days with ICU admissions tripling from seven to 21.

Of those 21 in ICU, seven are between the ages of 20 and 39 which Hinshaw says is indicative of the fact COVID-19 can pose a risk of those of all ages.

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But she also said seniors continue to be most at risk.

Hinshaw spoke of the likely fatigue many Albertans may be feeling after following public health guidelines for several months.

The province’s chief medical officer of health warned, however, it is still unclear the effects of the virus, “on your lifelong health.”

The status of active cases remains at eight in Medicine Hat with 49 recovered and one death.

There were 114 new cases of COVID-19 reported across the province on Thursday. The province now has 1,293 active cases and 8,506 recovered.

There are 106 Albertans currently in hospital due to COVID-19, a jump of four since Wednesday. Of the 106, 21 are in ICU. There have been two additional deaths for a total of 176.

The province conducted 8,222 tests in the past 24 hours.

The South Zone has a total of 1,554 cases, 134 active and 1,406 recovered. Eleven people in the zone have been admitted to hospital, an increase of one. There are currently three people in ICU and there have been 14 deaths, including one reported since Wednesday.

Cypress County has totalled 30 cases, all recovered.

The County of Forty Mile has nine total cases, three active cases and six recovered – unchanged from Wednesday.

The MD of Taber has 27 total cases — 14 active and 13 recovered.

Special Areas No. 2 has eight active cases, an increase of one in the past day.

Numbers remain unchanged in Brooks, where there have been 1,121 total cases —1,109 are recovered and three are active. Brooks has recorded nine deaths. The County of Newell is showing a total of 22 cases — two active and 20 recovered.

The County of Warner has 52 total cases. There are now six active cases and 45 recovered. There has been one death in the county.

The City of Lethbridge has a total of 91 cases. Of those, 37 are listed as active and 54 recovered. Lethbridge County has 23 cases, 12 active cases and 11 recovered.

The figures on alberta.ca are “up-to-date as of end of day July 22, 2020.”

Read the full July 23 update from the province here.

In Saskatchewan, there were 42 new cases reported today. Seventeen of those are on colonies in the southwest and west central regions where there were existing cases. There are currently 15 Hutterite communities with active cases in both the southwest and west central regions.