Province expands testing while local cases remain low

While COVID-19 case counts remain nearly unchanged for the Medicine Hat region over the past week, Alberta is expecting overall numbers to increase as it expands testing to include anyone with relevant symptoms.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced Monday that tests can be arranged for anyone who uses the online assessment tool (alberta.ca/covid-19-testingor calls 811.

“Aggressive testing is essential to controlling the spread,” Hinshaw said in a press conference. “We are expanding eligibility for testing to anyone in

Alberta who has a fever, cough, shortness of breath, runny nose, or sore throat.”

The expanded testing builds on last week’s decision to allow any essential service worker, anyone living with someone who has symptoms and a senior in the same household, and anyone from Calgary with symptoms to get a test.

Monday’s new numbers showed no new cases in Medicine Hat, with seven active and four recovered. Cypress County now has six active cases, up from five Sunday, while the County of Forty Mile remains with two cases.

Calgary and Edmonton remain the provincial hotspots for the respiratory disease. Of the 2,465 tests processed by the provincial lab Sunday night and Monday, 81 came back positive. The total number of COVID-19 cases in Alberta is now 1,732.

In the past week Medicine Hat has seen one new case, while Cypress County’s numbers have risen by five. Forty Mile is unchanged.

The south zone reported two new cases including the one in Cypress County on Monday, bringing its total to 33. Overall, the zone has the lowest COVID infection rate in the province, at 0.0107 per cent. By comparison Calgary’s rate is 0.0661 per cent, or roughly six times greater.