Outbreak at Mazankowski as 3 patients test positive
Heart institute continues to operate as COVID-19 cases surge in Edmonton zone
An outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute in Edmonton after three cardiac patients tested positive.
AHS spokesman Kerry Williamson said visitors are temporarily restricted at the facility. He said all services are continuing as the outbreak is isolated to a single cardiology unit.
“All of the services usually offered at the Mazankowski remain in place but there is the potential for reduced services,” said Williamson in an email. “We are working hard to ensure the availability of specialized services, staff, and physicians to continue to provide these services.”
Contact tracing has been initiated to determine how the virus entered the facility and where it may have spread to.
The outbreak comes amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the Edmonton Zone, which includes the city of Edmonton and its surrounding municipalities. On Thursday, the province announced 244 new cases, with 121 of them in the Edmonton Zone.
There are currently 2,738 active cases in Alberta, with more than half — 1,497 — in the Edmonton Zone while the city of Edmonton accounts for 1,249 of the cases.
Meanwhile, the outbreak at the Millwoods Shepherd's Care Centre has now been linked to 97 cases of COVID-19, Shepherd's Care spokesman Zachary Penner confirmed. Sixty residents and 37 staff have tested positive.
“We've contained the outbreak successfully to the third floor and not everyone on the third floor is positive,” said Penner. “It kind of was in one area, one cluster where it started.”
He said 21 of the 60 infected residents have recovered.
Alberta Health spokesman Tom Mcmillan announced an additional death at the facility Thursday, a man in his 80s. The outbreak is now linked to eight deaths.
The latest death brings the total in the province since the start of the pandemic to 288.
Also in Edmonton, the Misericordia Hospital is linked to 21 active cases of COVID-19, according to the most recent data from Alberta Health.
Cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in schools. Edmonton Catholic Schools announced St. Bernadette School and St. Francis Xavier School each had one additional case linked to them, while Edmonton Public Schools announced a case has been linked to Abbott School. Seventeen students and four staff members need to isolate as a result of the school's first case.
Centre High and Queen Elizabeth schools, both considered outbreaks, have both had an additional case linked to them.
There are currently 52 Edmonton schools listed by the provincial government as being in an outbreak or under watch.
Elsewhere in the province, the Calgary Zone has 788 active cases of COVID-19 while Northern Alberta has 130. The Central and South zones account for 116 and 191 active cases respectively.
Sixteen cases are not linked to a geographical location.
There are 101 people being treated for COVID-19 in Alberta hospitals, with 16 of those patients in intensive care.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 21,443 confirmed cases and 18,417 recoveries. On Wednesday, 12,721 tests were completed.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, is expected to give an update on COVID-19 in the province Friday afternoon.
Across the country, there are 20,543 active cases, the latest numbers from Health Canada show. There have been 9,699 COVID-19 related deaths in Canada since the start of the pandemic. Globally, there have been 38,394,169 confirmed cases and 1,089,047 deaths, reports the World Health Organization.