Thread by @CMOH_Alberta

Here is a summary of today’s #COVID19AB update. More than 21,800 people have recovered from COVID-19. In the last 24 hrs we have ID’d 477 cases & conducted more than 12K tests. 130 people are in hospital, including 18 in ICU. We are monitoring hospital capacity closely. (1/10)

I must also report 5 new deaths. Every death, caused by COVID-19 or something else, is a terrible loss for those who loved that person. I offer my heartfelt condolences to everyone who has lost a loved one to COVID or any other illness during these difficult months. (2/10)

There are active alerts or outbreaks in 249 schools, with 730 cases total. This includes 111 schools on outbreak including 45 on the watch list. So far, in-school transmission has likely occurred in 87 schools. Of these, 48 have seen only 1 new case occur as a result. (3/10)

Starting Mon. there will be a new symptoms list for Albertans under 18, incl the daily checklist for students in school & all childcare settings. Thank you to parents who have been using the checklist every day. (4/10)

We’re removing runny nose & sore throat from children’s list of mandatory isolation symptoms. Last week, less than 1% of children w/only sore throat & less than .5% w/only runny nose tested + for COVID-19. This change is only for those with no known exposure. (5/10)

If a child has had close contact with a COVID case in the last 14 days, a runny nose or sore throat are enough to recommend testing & the child would need to continue to stay home in isolation. (6/10)

Any child w/even 1 core isolation symptom (cough, fever, shortness of breath & a new core isolation symptom of loss of taste or smell) must still isolate for 10 days or have a neg. test result & resolved symptoms before resuming activities. (7/10)

If a child has only 1 of the other symptoms on the list, keep them home & monitor for 24hrs. If improved, testing isn’t needed & they can resume activities when they feel well. If 2+ symptoms, they should get tested & stay home until symptoms go away or they test neg. (8/10)

For example if a child only has a headache, they should stay home for the day. If they improve, they can go to school when they feel well. But if they have a headache & a runny nose, they should stay home & get tested or stay home until the symptoms go away. (9/10)

Today’s changes align with BC, ON & QC. After they updated their lists, they did not see a corresponding COVID-19 transmission increase in schools. Like with all public health measures, we will continue reviewing emerging evidence & will update our approach as needed. (10/10)