Alberta reports 112 virus deaths

Three women in their 40s among victims as province surpasses 1,000 casualties

More than 1,000 Albertans have died from COVID-19 since it spread here nine months ago, the province said Monday while announcing another 112 people died from the disease over the Christmas holidays.

At the same time, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, confirmed a more contagious strain of the virus, which has been found in countries such as Britain, has also been identified in one Alberta case. That person recently arrived here from the United Kingdom.

While sending condolences to the many people who lost friends and family members since her last update earlier in the month, Hinshaw announced 112 Albertans have now lost their lives to the disease, bringing the death toll to 1,002.

“Losing someone is never easy but it is made even more difficult with the public health restrictions in place,” Hinshaw said during Monday's news conference.

“There are safe ways to help you mourn and you are not alone. We are not alone in this reality in Alberta either. Around the world and across our country, people are mourning the loss of their loved ones.”

Of the 112 reported to have died, 30 were from the Calgary zone, 76 were from the Edmonton zone, three were from the Central zone, two were from the North zone and one was from the South zone.

The three youngest to have died of these 112 people were three women in their 40s: a woman from the Calgary zone, a woman from the Central zone and a woman in the Edmonton zone.

Alberta surpassed the grim milestone of 1,000 deaths on the same day Canada surpassed 15,000 deaths. Premier Jason Kenney released a statement on Monday addressing the loss of life.

“It represents more than 1,000 mothers, wives, fathers, husbands — empty spaces around the table that can never be filled. Each one means that there is a family that is grieving, a friend who has lost someone they loved, a child who lost their parent, a partner who lost their true love,” Kenney said.

Even as the province reaches this painful milestone, however, Kenney said there is reason for hope.

“As of today, more than 6,000 Albertans have received their first vaccine doses. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. And so on this grim day, I ask all Albertans to double down on our public health measures.”

Immunizations of health-care workers have continued over the holidays in Alberta, except on Christmas Day and later this week on New Year's Day.

Another 1,007 cases of COVID-19 were identified on Dec. 23, followed by 1,191 on Dec. 24, 914 on Dec. 25, 459 on Saturday and 917 on Sunday. Hinshaw partially attributes the lower number of cases being confirmed to the fewer number of tests being done each day this week.

There are 15,487 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. The number of Albertans receiving care in the hospital remains high, with 878 hospitalized patients, including 148 in intensive-care units.

Our health-care system is still under “significant pressure,” Hinshaw said.

“We must remain attentive to the orders in place, and continue to follow them closely to make sure that we don't see a spike in mid-january that ignites a dangerous spread in 2021,” she added.

The public health measures are also partially responsible for the lower daily case counts this week, according to Hinshaw.

“The New Year holds a lot of promise, especially with the expanded rollout of vaccines in the coming weeks and months, but let's start on the right path with lower case numbers and reduced spread,” said Hinshaw.

Canada surpassed 15,000 COVID-19 deaths on Monday, and at least one infectious disease expert says the sombre milestone should be a wake-up call to anyone who thinks the dangers of the disease are overhyped.

Reaching more than 15,000 deaths in the nine months since the pandemic began highlights just how serious COVID-19 is, said Dr. Gerald Evans, chair of the infectious diseases division at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.

“We are seeing exactly what's being seen around the world, which is that there are substantially large numbers of deaths from this virus. It's not the flu,” Evans said in an interview on Monday.

“I would hope that it would reinforce to these people who are saying that it's a big hype,” he said. “It's not a hype. People are dying from this. This is a deadly disease.”

Ontario reported over the weekend new cases of a more contagious strain of the virus in a couple in the Durham Region, east of Toronto.

The variant, first seen in the U.K., has also been found in Alberta, Ottawa and the Vancouver Island area of B.C.

Public Health Ontario announced Sunday that the Durham couple had been in contact with someone who recently returned from the U.K. The other two cases in Ottawa and B.C. are also related to U.K. travel, public health officials said. The Public Health Agency of Canada said while early data suggest the new variant may be more transmissible, there is no evidence it causes more severe symptoms or affects vaccine effectiveness.

Alberta identified a single case of COVID-19 caused by this variant from someone who recently arrived from the U.K., Hinshaw said.

“The good news is that this individual did everything they were supposed to do,” said Hinshaw.

There is no evidence at this point that it spread further.