By David Opinko/LethbridgeNewsNOW

One new case in city, 364 in province

Alberta soon to open more phases of COVID-19 vaccination rollout

Mar 15, 2021 | 4:35 PM

In a couple of weeks’ time, more Albertans will become eligible to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Starting sometime next month, Alberta Health Services will open Phases 2B and 2C of the vaccine rollout.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw says the two phases cover more than one million Albertans.

“More than 660,000 Albertans will be eligible under Phase 2B and another 400,000 will be able to book in Phase 2C. That is roughly a million Albertans, and it will take some time to provide a vaccination to everyone who wants one.”

More on who is eligible in Phases 2B and 2C is below.

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There are nine active cases of COVID-19 in Medicine Hat on Monday.

The city now has had 566 total cases – the nine active, 540 recovered and there have been 17 deaths.

There is one new case in the city today and no new recoveries.

Across the province, there are 4,811 active cases, up 114 from Sunday, and 132,028 recovered cases, up 247.

Alberta’s total cases from the start of the pandemic is 138,788.

There have been 985 variant cases identified in the province, 65 new today. There are 22 in the South Zone.

There are 364 total new cases in the province today.

There are now 255 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 42 of which are in ICU, and 1,949 deaths.

The province completed 6,618 tests in the past 24 hours.

The provincial positivity rate is 4.6 per cent.

Alberta has delivered 368,124 doses of vaccine.

Hinshaw’s next update will be on Tuesday.

An outbreak is listed on the provincial website at the Valleyview long-term care facility in Medicine Hat. The outbreak was opened on Feb. 12. It’s the only local outbreak currently listed.

There are 7,133 cases in the South Zone. There are 588 active cases and 6,446 recovered. The death total in the zone is at 99.

An AHS spokesperson told CHAT News on Monday that AHS South Zone currently has 32 COVID-19 positive individuals in hospital. There are 25 at Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge, with four of those in the ICU. Medicine Hat Regional Hospital has three inpatients, with none in the ICU. The Cardston Health Centre has four inpatients.

There are no local schools on either “Alert” or “Outbreak” status on the provincial reporting site.

An individual from Ross Glen School has tested positive for COVID-19. Some students and staff have been directed to quarantine for a specified period of time and all close contacts have been identified and are also in quarantine.

The website Support Our Students is tracking instances of cases in schools across the province.

Cypress County has totaled 146 cases – one active case and the rest recovered.

The County of Forty Mile has 119 total cases. There is one active case, 115 recovered and there have been three deaths.

The MD of Taber has 344 total cases — five active cases, 333 recovered and there have been six deaths.

Special Areas No. 2 has 49 total cases – nine active cases, 39 recovered and there has been one death.

Brooks has 1,365 total cases — two active cases and 1,349 are recovered. Brooks has recorded 14 deaths.

The County of Newell has a total of 160 cases — one active case, 157 recovered and there have been two deaths.

The County of Warner has 172 total cases. There are 10 active cases, 159 are recovered cases and there have been three deaths in the county.

The City of Lethbridge has a total of 2,586 cases. There are 447 active cases, 2,114 recovered and there have been 25 deaths. Lethbridge County has 559 cases, 12 active cases, 540 recovered and there have been seven deaths.

The figures on alberta.ca are “up-to-date as of end of day March 14, 2021.”

Read the full March 15 update from the province here.

Saskatchewan has a total of 30,727 cases, 1,299 considered active. There are 29,021 recovered cases and there have been 407 COVID-19 deaths in the province.

Saskatchewan has delivered 104,424 doses of vaccine.

Phase 2B includes Albertans born between 1957-2005 (aged 16-64) who have any one of the following high-risk underlying health conditions:

• Asplenia or dysfunction of the spleen (a missing spleen or a spleen that is no longer working)
• Cancer (anyone with a new diagnosis of or treatment for all forms of cancer in the last year, except non-invasive skin cancer)
• Chronic heart disease and vascular disease:
  • Including: congenital heart disease, chronic heart failure, heart or kidney disease from high blood pressure, and a history of a stroke
  • Not including: high blood pressure alone
• Chronic kidney diseases requiring regular medical monitoring or treatment
• Chronic liver disease due to any cause (for example: cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis, and hemochromatosis)
• Chronic neurological disease (for example: epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, MS, muscular dystrophy and dementia)
• Chronic respiratory (lung) diseases:
  • Including: COPD, cystic fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, and severe asthma that required an asthma-related emergency department visit or hospital admission in the past year
  • Not including: mild or well-controlled asthma
• Diabetes requiring insulin or other anti-diabetic medication to control
• Immunosuppression: a weakened immune response due to disease or treatment, including:
  • anyone undergoing chemotherapy or treatment for HIV, genetic disorders of the immune system
  • people receiving long-term medical treatment to control severe inflammation such as rheumatoid arthritis or systemic lupus
• Pregnancy: anyone who is currently pregnant
• Severe mental illness or substance use disorder requiring a hospital stay during the past year (for example: schizophrenia, depression, anxiety disorders and others)
• Severe obesity: a Body Mass Index of 40 kg/m2 or more
• Severe or profound learning disabilities or severe developmental delay:
  • Including: individuals with Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism spectrum disorder and others
  • Not including: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Solid organ, bone marrow, or stem cell transplant recipients

A more detailed list of who is eligible can be found here.

Those in Phase 2B will not be required to have a doctor’s note. Hinshaw says they will be relying on the “honour system.”

Phase 2C is broken into four groups and will commence once Phase 2B is completed.

Those who will become eligible include:

• Residents and support staff at eligible congregate living and work settings at risk for large outbreaks: including: correctional facilities, homeless shelters, meatpacking plants, group homes including disability, mental health and other types of licensed supportive living.
• Health-care workers working in patient care facilities or providing direct patient care in the community, in order to limit spread to high-risk individuals, including: physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists and all other regulated health care professionals and their office or support staff.
• Anyone working in patient care facilities or providing services directly to clients in the community for Alberta Health Services, Covenant Health, Alberta Precision Labs, DynaLife, and students undertaking placement practicums in clinical areas.
• Healthcare workers on First Nation reserves.
• Caregivers of Albertans who are most at risk of severe outcomes:
  • All designated family/support people of those individuals in long-term care, designated supportive living and licensed supportive living facilities.
  • Up to 2 caregivers for children under 16 who have an eligible chronic condition but are unable to receive vaccine due to age.