RELAUNCH PACE MAY QUICKEN
Infection numbers continue to drop
Albertans should learn early next week whether the province will allow the next stage of Alberta’s COVID-19 relaunch to move forward earlier than anticipated.
The news comes as numbers of those infected with COVID-19 continue to drop, with Wednesday seeing only 19 new cases in Alberta, even following the first stage of reopening some businesses.
“That was very encouraging that we saw, even with many more businesses open — restaurants, retail, daycares, hairstylists — even with that increased activity we were still able, collectively, to maintain a low rate and in fact have a decreased number of new infections,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said at her Wednesday update.
“So with those really encouraging numbers, my team and I did take forward some considerations for perhaps moving the Stage 1 of relaunch a little bit earlier.”
Stage 2 of relaunch has been tentatively marked for June 19, but Hinshaw said a decision will be made early next week on whether it should happen even sooner.
That phase would include the reopening of libraries, cinemas and personal services, such as massage parlours.
As well, some activities currently slated to be allowed under Stage 3, including fitness and recreation centres as well as organized sports, could be allowed to resume under Stage 2, Hinshaw said.
Premier Jason Kenney said earlier Wednesday that he expected the next stage of relaunch to go ahead as planned.
“The numbers have continued to move very much in the right direction,” Kenney said. “We’re down to just over 50 people with COVID in Alberta hospitals. Only five or six in intensive care, and I think only one or two using ventilators.”
On Wednesday, there were 48 Albertans in hospital with COVID -19, six of whom were in intensive care units, a slight decrease in hospitalizations from the previous day.
In addition to the 19 new cases reported Wednesday, two new deaths related to COVID-19 were announced, both in Calgary continuing-care centres.
The two deaths were a woman in her 90s from Extendicare Hillcrest and a woman in her 80s from Intercare Chinook Care Centre. They bring the province’s total toll from the coronavirus to 145 deaths, 111 of whom were in long-term care facilities. The deaths were the first reported in Alberta since Saturday.
The new cases were from just less than 5,000 tests, a 0.4 per cent positive rate. They brought Alberta’s total number of cases to 7,076.
Of those cases, 344 remain active, or about five per cent of the total number of cases detected.
A total of 6,587 Albertans have now officially recovered from the coronavirus.
Hinshaw also said Wednesday that discussions are ongoing about introducing antibody tests to Alberta, which could detect whether someone has previously been infected with COVID -19, even if they have since recovered.
Antibody testing, also called serological testing, is in the final stages of approval by Alberta’s provincial lab, but Hinshaw warned there is not yet evidence these tests can guarantee who is immune to COVID-19 and for how long. As well, the province would need to obtain testing kits, which are in high demand worldwide.
“Initially, when it’s available, this testing will be used for research purposes to determine if a portion of Albertans have been exposed to COVID-19,” Hinshaw said.
She cautioned Albertans from buying products marketed as home serology tests, saying they could produce false results.
Hinshaw also reiterated that all Albertans are now eligible for regular testing, whether or not they are symptomatic.