MORE CASES AND DEATHS
School outbreaks raise alarm
Five more Albertans, including a man in his 20s, have died from COVID-19, according to the latest provincial update on the pandemic.
The man in the Edmonton area had chronic health conditions, said the province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw.
“Whether an individual is in their 20s or older, it’s always a loss,” Hinshaw said.
The average age for COVID-19 deaths in the province is 83, and only one other person in their 20s has died from the disease in Alberta.
News of the deaths came with the emergence of 113 new infections, detected among 9,711 tests — a positivity rate of 1.16 per cent.
Hinshaw said a mounting number of infections in students and school-linked outbreaks reflects a rising number of COVID-19 cases being found in the wider community.
Testing numbers have recently climbed to an average of more than 11,000 per day, Hinshaw said.
“The cases we’re seeing is a reflection of community transmission in some parts of the province that is higher than what would be ideal,” she said.
“With any virus, only a fraction of the cases are detected by the health system, mainly because people don’t seek treatment because the symptoms are so mild.”
She noted the number of active cases in the province, at 1,494, is down by 91 from the previous day, “but it’s still a concerning total.”
In an attempt to limit the spread of the disease, positive and negative test results will now be available by text message, which is aimed at speeding the notification process, Hinshaw said.
“You can now receive your test results anytime, day or night, as soon as the lab result is available,” she said.
“This will be vital to limiting the spread of COVID -19 in the coming days and months.”
In a bid to track down the earliest possible infections in Alberta, health authorities analyzed more than 23,000 tests performed for other respiratory illnesses from Dec. 1, 2019, and March 7 of this year, and detected one case of COVID-19 dating back to Feb. 24.
That’s nine days before the first infection was initially reported on March 5, Hinshaw said.
It was learned that person, who had been initially tested for influenza, had recently travelled in the U.S.
“Our results highlight the strength of Alberta’s pandemic preparedness and our response in the early days of the pandemic,” Hinshaw said.
She also said it’s difficult to calculate the precise effect the mandatory use of protective masks has had in Edmonton, Calgary and other centres since that order took effect about six weeks ago.
But she said transmissions haven’t been happening where masks are most used, and that most infections have been spread in enclosed social gatherings where the coverings are unlikely to be present, Hinshaw said.
“They’re not in the public spaces impacted by the mask order,” she said, adding there’s no reason to doubt masks are one effective element in containing the spread.
“But the importance of all of us using every tool at our disposal, including masking … it’s all of those things layered together in reducing those numbers.”
The province has also lifted a ban on the use of dry saunas and hot tubs, as long as proper distancing and cleanliness protocols are followed, Hinshaw said.
The cases
(are) a reflection of community transmission ... that is higher than what would be ideal.