Here is a summary thread of today’s #COVID19AB public health update. In the last 24 hours, we confirmed 216 new cases of #COVID19AB for a total of 4,696 cases in Alberta. 87 people are in hospital with the virus with 20 in ICU. In total, 1,664 people have recovered. (1/8)
I’m sad to report 2 more deaths, bringing Alberta’s total deaths from #COVID19AB to 75. 458 cases are confirmed in continuing care facilities. That’s a major concern. Additional teams are being brought in to make more testing available in these sites. (2/8)
We’ve tested 1,000+ symptomatic homeless people to date. All were negative until we identified 4 cases of #COVID19AB in Calgary’s homeless population yesterday. We are now testing all contacts with or without symptoms at the affected homeless centres. (3/8)
In Edmonton & Calgary, we will offer testing to a sample of asymptomatic homeless people as a precaution to help identify cases as quickly as possible & reduce the chance of outbreaks in shelters & similar settings. More details to come. (4/8)
We have confirmed 14 cases of #COVID19 in the Bearspaw First Nation in southern Alberta. This First Nation has an experienced emergency management team & has plans and personnel to manage the outbreak and contain the spread. (5/8)
A small # of cases in Sturgeon General Hospital & Royal Alexandra Hospital seem to be linked within each facility but not with each other. Another at Edmonton General is linked to a patient transfer from the Sturgeon outbreak. Action has been taken to prevent any spread. (6/8)
Precautions are taken when even 1 case is identified at an acute care facility. We publicly post facility names when there are 2 or more cases. Also, cases at acute care facilities are contained in a single unit & not spread throughout. (7/8)
Starting tomorrow, we will post the total cases of health care workers who have tested positive for #COVID19AB. Transparency is vital to information and protecting Albertans. (8/8)
