Another Covid-related death at care centre
Chief medical officer issues reminder to remain safe amid economic relaunch
Another COVID-19 death was reported at the site of Alberta’s single-deadliest outbreak — a continuing care centre in Calgary — as the province recorded 32 new cases Monday.
The death of a woman in her 90s, who was a resident at the Extendicare Hillcrest continuing care centre in northwest Calgary, marks the 153rd death of an Albertan from COVID-19.
The outbreak at Extendicare Hillcrest remains the single-deadliest outbreak in Alberta with 22 recorded deaths of residents, followed by Mckenzie Towne Continuing Care Centre with 20 and Intercare Brentwood with 18. However, the outbreaks at these facilities have gotten smaller as more residents and staff recover.
Extendicare Hillcrest currently has six active cases and 65 recoveries; Intercare Brentwood has two active cases and 66 recoveries; and, Mckenzie Towne Continuing Care has no active cases and a total of 94 recoveries, according to Alberta Health.
In total, there are 542 active cases provincewide as of Monday, which is eight more active cases than Sunday.
On Sunday, the number of active cases of COVID -19 in the Edmonton zone surpassed the active total in the Calgary zone, though Calgary has consistently had more active cases since the first few cases were confirmed in early March. But on Monday, however, the Calgary zone again had the most active cases with 245 while the Edmonton zone had 236.
There are 34 active cases in the North zone, 21 in the South zone, three in the Central zone and three are marked as unknown locations.
The 396,300 tests completed by Alberta Health Services have detected a total of 7,736 cases of COVID-19 in Alberta. Recoveries are now sitting at 7,041. There are 32 hospitalizations, including six patients requiring intensive care.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, posted on Twitter in lieu of a press conference on Monday, to remind Albertans that “distancing and masking (when needed)” are part of the important return-to-work strategies to keep people safe as the province reopens.
“I challenge each Albertan to remind others of the guidance and promote good hygiene. Diligently following the public health measures means you are being considerate and caring — not over-cautious,” Hinshaw posted Monday.
As part of the economic relaunch, the provincial government has distributed about 14 million non-medical masks to Albertans, through the drive-thru program that kicked off two weeks ago on June 8, and another six million through municipalities, seniors organizations, Indigenous partners and places of worship.
In a release Monday, Minister of Health Tyler Shandro thanked the provincial government’s partners in helping them distribute the free non-medical masks to Albertans through the program. Mcdonald’s Canada, A&W and Tim Hortons drive-thrus across the province provided minimal-contact distribution of packages of four masks for each person.
“A program of this scale would not have been possible without your hard work and community support. We will continue to support Albertans as we move through stage two of relaunch, and people continue to get back to work,” Shandro said in the release.
The distribution of non-medical masks has been paused at the restaurant-partner locations until the next phase of the program which is scheduled to start in July, though Albertans can still request a package of masks by calling 211.
Another 20 million masks are expected to be distributed in July through drive-thrus and other partners, according to the provincial government.
Also Monday, YMCA Calgary announced its reopening strategy, with a plan to fully reopen on July 20.
Currently, Calgary’s YMCA locations have launched registration for YMCA Summer Moments, a reimagined summer program starting July 6 that fits with Alberta Health’s safety requirements.
YMCA Calgary will also be dropping detailed reopening information and other details on July 6.
Although gyms and recreation centres were given the go-ahead to reopen with restrictions on June 12, YMCA Calgary said in a release they are taking their time to ensure facilities “meet the highest standards of health and safety,” to create an online tool to assist members and participants, and to recall and retrain staff and volunteers.
Diligently following the public health measures means you are being considerate and caring …