(Youtube/ YourAlberta)

By Tiffany Goodwein

Province expands testing for Coronavirus

Feb 26, 2020 | 6:19 PM

EDMONTON, AB.-Alberta travellers coming from six more countries are being asked to monitor their symptoms as cases of Coronavirus continue to grow around the globe.

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health announced Wednesday that testing protocols now include travellers coming from Hong Kong, Singapore, Iran, South Korea, Japan and Italy, in addition to China.

“The fact is the global situation is changing rapidly, although China continues to have the highest number of cases the spread of this virus to new countries is concerning. We do not know what direction the outbreak will take next but we do know we need to be prepared for a scenario where COVID-19 continues to spread in countries around the world,” said Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health, who added there are still no probable or confirmed cases in Alberta.

Travellers from those six countries are being asked to watch for symptoms and to call Health Link if they experience a fever or cough. But they aren’t required to self-isolate for 14 days unless they are coming from Huibei province in China.

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CHAT News Today has learned of at least two residents in self isolation in Medicine Hat and has heard concerns from their co-workers about their return to work. But the province’s top doctor says there are steps to reduce the risks.

“First of all if 14 days have passed and someone has never felt sick then they can go back to work and there’s no concern that they can be a danger to others in the workplace. Second of all if they do feel sick then that’s something they should call Health Link immediately about, self isolate if it’s within those 14 days and get the proper advice from medical providers about what the next steps should be,” said Hinshaw.

The province adds residents should practice methods to avoid contraction including regular hand washing and covering the mouth and nose while sneezing or coughing.

As of Wednesday evening, there are 81,109 confirmed Coronavirus cases around the globe, according to the World Health Organization. A total of twelve of those confirmed cases are from B.C and Ontario.