Hinshaw: We need Albertans to do their part

The city has 158 total cases. There are 105 recovered cases and there have been two deaths in addition to the active cases.

Across the province, there are 730 new cases on Wednesday. Alberta has 10,057 active cases, down 11 since Tuesday, and 31,192 recovered cases, up 730.

There are now 287 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 57 of which are in ICU, and 443 deaths.

There have been a total of 41,692 cases in Alberta over the course of the pandemic.

The province continues to have issues with its reporting site, so exact testing figures are not available.

Hinshaw said about 13,000 tests were completed in the past 24 hours, putting the positivity rate at about 5.5 per cent.

She expressed disappointment at reports of businesses and organizations that are trying to find loopholes in the measures put in place last week. She said she’s heard of team sport practices continuing by moving to a neighbouring community’s rink and group fitness classes being run by video instead of an instructor on-site.

She said these decisions put everyone at risk.

“The intent of these measures is to facilitate a two-week hard stop of all activity that can provide opportunity for large-scale COVID spread,” she said.

To those who have decided they will not comply because they believe the measures will last longer than two weeks, Hinshaw said we cannot create a self-fulfilling prophecy.

“Any individual, group or business that chooses to continue is putting at risk the time-limited nature of these restrictions,” she said. “These actions risk not just further restrictions on their own businesses and activities, but further restrictions for all those who are choosing to comply and going above and beyond as well. This is deadly serious. I have asked for kindness but I also ask for firmness. We need to control our spread and protect our health system.”

Hinshaw says she continues to be concerned by the numbers, and the human costs of COVID are rising rapidly.

“We have lost Albertans to other causes in this time as well, and they are also mourned and missed,” she said. “But the difference is we did not have the collective power to prevent all those other deaths. With COIVD-19 we do have that power.”

She said almost 25 per cent of all COVID-19 deaths have happened since Nov. 1.

“If we do not change our trajectory the implications are grim,” Hinshaw said.

She also said the daily COVID-19 death count is a tragic reminder that COVID is not just a flu, but it is life and death.

She said overall as of Nov. 15 about 40 per cent of cases are linked to a household or social gathering or private event. Ten per cent are linked to continuing care, four per cent to child care or K-12 schools and three per cent to acute care outbreaks.

“But for 30 per cent, the source remains unknown,” Hinshaw said, adding that number is rising as the province faces challenges in timely contact tracing.

On vaccines, Hinshaw said that if all checks and balances with regard to trials and safety are cleared, the province would be in line for about 680,000 doses combined between the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

AHS has initiated surge capacity measures in Edmonton Zone and will do so in other areas as needed. Other measures being taken by AHS are to create hospital spaces for patients with COVID by reducing the spaces for those requiring non-COVID care.

As well, Hinshaw said hospital sites are increasing space by opening units not currently in operation and equipping and maximizing other spaces in a safe manner. She said that includes temporary ICU spaces in spaces that would otherwise be used to care for patients with other conditions requiring specialized care.

Medicine Hat was placed on the provincial “Watch” list on Friday and remains there.

Regions are placed on the province’s “Watch” list when they have a rate of more than 50 active cases per 100,000 population. Medicine Hat’s 51 active cases among 68,057 people puts it at a rate of 74.9.

Cypress County with a rate of 347.6 on 39 active cases and the County of Forty Mile with a rate of 403.5 on 26 active cases are also on the list.

Brooks (176.2 rate), the County of Newell (284.2), Lethbridge (175.8) Lethbridge County (241.8) and the MD of Taber (429.4) are also on the list.

There are 3,186 cases in the South Zone. There are 532 active cases and 2,618 recovered. There are currently 19 COVID-19 cases in hospital in the South Zone, five in the ICU. The death total in the zone is at 36.

On Wednesday there are 167 schools in the province where outbreaks have been declared. Alberta Health’s threshold for declaring an outbreak in school is two cases being in a school while infectious within 14 days.

Eastbrook Elementary School in Brooks is on the school “Watch” list.

Medicine Hat High School and Crestwood School in Medicine Hat, Brooks Junior High School and Bassano School are currently on the outbreak list.

The website Support Our Students is tracking instances of cases in schools across the province. There have been no new local updates other than the third case at Hat High.

Cypress County has totaled 91 cases – 39 active cases and the rest recovered.

The County of Forty Mile has 88 total cases. There are 26 active cases, 61 recovered and there is one new death.

The MD of Taber has 148 total cases — 81 active cases, 66 recovered and there has been one death.

Special Areas No. 2 has 17 total cases – all recovered.

Brooks has 1,239 total cases — 34 active and 1,194 are recovered. Brooks has recorded 11 deaths.

The County of Newell has a total of 87 cases — 23 active cases, 62 recovered and there have been two deaths.

The County of Warner has 85 total cases. There are nine active cases, 75 are recovered cases and there has been one death in the county.

The City of Lethbridge has a total of 801 cases. There are 174 active cases, 620 recovered and there have been seven deaths. Lethbridge County has 253 cases, 61 active cases, 191 recovered and there has been one death.

The figures on alberta.ca are “up-to-date as of end of day Nov. 17, 2020.”

Saskatchewan confirmed 132 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, 14 in the South Zones.

Saskatchewan has a total of 5,553 cases, 2,099 considered active. There are 3,422 recovered cases and there have been 32 COVID-19 deaths in the province.

On Tuesday, the province announced it is reducing the number of people allowed to gather inside a home to five from 10 and making masks mandatory in public areas provincewide to stem the rise in COVID-19 cases.

by Chris Brown

Hinshaw: We need Albertans to do their part

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