‘THIS FIGHT IS FAR FROM OVER’
Alberta’s top doctor says COVID-19 will be around for months
As Alberta nears the four-month mark of finding its first COVID -19 case, the province’s chief medical officer of health says Albertans should be proud of what they accomplished but warns the pandemic has not ended.
“I want to be clear: COVID-19 is still here. This fight is far from over,” writes Dr. Deena Hinshaw in a column on the opinion pages of today’s Herald.
The province continues to identify cases in all age groups, with a particular increase in those aged 20 to 39, she said.
“Since reopening, we have seen family barbecues, funerals, birthday parties and other get-togethers lead to dozens of new cases,” Hinshaw writes. “This virus can spread easily from one person to many. Large gatherings and indoor areas pose unique risks of transmitting COVID-19.”
On Friday, Alberta announced 57 new COVID -19 cases. The new cases bring Alberta’s total to 8,259, with 572 of those cases remaining active.
Only four of the 57 new cases were from the Alberta Health Services Calgary zone, however, with the South zone and the Edmonton zone the source of the majority of new cases, with 25 and 20 new cases, respectively.
The new cases came from about 6,700 tests, about a 0.8 per cent positive rate.
“The good news is that we are not powerless,” says Hinshaw. “This virus is no longer new to Alberta. We can protect each other and we know how to do it.”
As of Friday, there are 42 Albertans in hospital, nine of whom are in intensive-care units, a slight decrease in total hospitalizations from Thursday.
On the same day, Alberta reported a handful of new COVID -19 outbreaks at Calgary long-term care facilities.
The most significant is at Generations Calgary in the northeast, where six staff members and two residents have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Ian West, vice-president operations for Park Place Seniors, the company that manages Generations, said the first case was detected on June 26 in an asymptomatic staff member.
“It was part of our drive to have all of our staff go out and get tested,” West said. “One of the challenges of the virus is there’s so many people who potentially have it but don’t show any sign of it, so getting people tested proactively has been very useful.”
Of the two residents who tested positive, West said one was found to have the virus after being hospitalized for unrelated reasons and remains stable, while the other has mild symptoms and is self-isolating within the facility. Testing is ongoing, with swabs from all residents to be taken again this weekend.
Though Alberta is planning to lighten restrictions on visitations at long-term care homes, West said Generations is making sure their outbreak stays under control.
“Obviously, families are really wanting to come back and visit their loved ones, and residents really want visits, because this has been going on now since March,” he said. “But we can’t let compassion get in the way of common sense.”
At most Calgary long-term care sites, outbreaks have been declared over. Two other new outbreaks at facilities were reported
Friday, however: Father Lacombe Nursing Home has four active cases, while Carewest Garrison Green has two ongoing cases.
That first case on March 5 — a Calgary woman returning home from a California cruise — gave way to dozens more in the following weeks and thousands more in the following months.
In that time, public health officials imposed increasingly more strict restrictions on Albertans, prohibiting most gatherings and forcing all non-essential businesses to close down in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19.
In mid-may, the province began slowly lifting those restrictions, most recently allowing groups of up to 200 people to gather at outdoor community events.
The majority of Alberta’s 8,259 cases came in the first half of its outbreak. On May 5, the province had confirmed 5,893 cases of the virus, with 106 deaths. Since then, Alberta has detected 2,366 more cases and recorded 49 more deaths.
Only one Albertan has died of COVID-19 since June 25, leaving the province’s death toll at 155.
In her column, Hinshaw reflected on the province’s past four months, saying that even though public-health officials had planned for years for a potential pandemic, the coronavirus presented unforeseen challenges.
“We knew very little about COVID-19 when it arrived in Alberta. The virus was still new and evidence from China and other countries still emerging,” Hinshaw wrote. “We had to rely on the best evidence from past epidemics as our starting place and then adjust as quickly as possible as new, reliable evidence emerged. Other countries that had successfully flattened the curve showed us that aggressive testing and contact tracing, combined with strict physical distancing measures and community support, can prevent spread and save lives.”
When addressing Albertans at a COVID-19 update Thursday, Hinshaw indicated that there are still many months to go before the coronavirus is gone, stressing that Albertans shouldn’t let their guards down amid pandemic fatigue.
“It is hard to believe it’s now July. We are halfway through the year and so far, it’s been a year I can imagine not many of us will be eager to repeat,” Hinshaw said.
“Unfortunately, although we may be done with COVID, it is not yet done with us. We must not yet think that the risk is over and begin relaxing too soon, or think that the virus is only a threat to other people.
“COVID -19 is still here. It will be with us all summer, and into the fall, and it will almost certainly be here when we ring in the new year.”
The province will next provide an update on COVID-19 numbers on Monday, as public-health officials are no longer releasing new statistics on weekends.
The good news is that we are not powerless. This virus is no longer new to Alberta. We can protect each other and we know how to do it.