Medicine Hat rises to 69 active COVID-19 cases, another daily record in Alberta

Detailed testing figures remain unavailable, but Dr. Deena Hinshaw said more than 17,000 tests were completed over the past 24 hours, “which means our provincial positivity rate sits at about six and a half per cent.”

She added AHS will be able to report detailed testing numbers again early next week.

There have been a total of 43,952 cases in Alberta over the course of the pandemic.

There are now 310 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 58 of which are in ICU, and 462 deaths.

“Our current situation is grim,” said Hinshaw.

She added she continues to be concerned about the rise in tragic outcomes and said “severe outcomes are not limited just to those already at the very end of their lives, and it is a mistake to think so.”

The chief medical officer of health said the health system is taxed and continued to urge Albertans to help them reduce demand on ICUs and hospitals by following all measures in place.

According to an AHS spokesperson, there are currently seven COVID-19 positive patients at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital with one of those in the ICU. The local hospital has a 10-bed capacity in its ICU.

Alberta is the only province without some sort of mask mandate.

“All of the policy decisions about how to respond to the pandemic are discussed and the challenges and benefits are looked at carefully, said the chief medical officer of health. “A decision has not been made about whether or not a mask mandate would be a part of any additional measures in the province.”

Hinshaw added AHS is watching neighbouring provinces and looking very closely at the evidence.

She said she and her team are in a preparation phase regarding what measures are under consideration but the “discussion about what measures would be deemed appropriate has not happened.”

Medicine Hat remains on the provincial “Watch” list.

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 69 active cases among 68,057 people puts it at a rate of 101.4.

Cypress County with a rate of 338.7 on 38 active cases and the County of Forty Mile with a rate of 357 on 23 active cases are also on the list.

Brooks (186.6 rate), the County of Newell (395.4), Lethbridge (158.6) Lethbridge County (245.8) and the MD of Taber (519.5) are also on the list.

There are 3,346 cases in the South Zone. There are 569 active cases and 2,740 recovered. There are currently 21 COVID-19 cases in hospital in the South Zone, four in the ICU. The death total in the zone is at 37.

On Wednesday there are 163 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.

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

Cypress County has totaled 99 cases – 38 active cases and the rest recovered.

The County of Forty Mile has 93 total cases. There are 23 active cases, 69 recovered and there is one new death.

The MD of Taber has 176 total cases — 98 active cases, 77 recovered and there has been one death.

Special Areas No. 2 has 18 total cases – one active and the rest recovered.

Brooks has 1,241 total cases — 36 active and 1,204 are recovered. Brooks has recorded 11 deaths.

The County of Newell has a total of 97 cases — 32 active cases, 63 recovered and there have been two deaths.

The County of Warner has 89 total cases. There are nine active cases, 79 are recovered cases and there has been one death in the county.

The City of Lethbridge has a total of 835 cases. There are 157 active cases, 671 recovered and there have been seven deaths. Lethbridge County has 271 cases, 62 active cases, 207 recovered and there has been two deaths.

The figures on alberta.ca are “up-to-date as of end of day Nov. 19, 2020.”

You can read the full Nov. 20 update from the province here.

Saskatchewan confirmed 153 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, 38 in the South Zones.

Saskatchewan has a total of 5,804 cases, 2,145 considered active. There are 3,626 recovered cases and there have been 33 COVID-19 deaths in the province.

by Chris Brown

Medicine Hat rises to 69 active COVID-19 cases, another daily record in Alberta

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