EDMONTON – Alberta has become another hotspot for surging “Second Wave” COVID-19 cases.
The increasing numbers have many wondering why Premier Jason Kenney has not put in place new restrictions. The Opposition leader, former Premier Rachel Notley states, “Jason Kenney is not living up to his own personal responsibility as premier, which is to keep Albertans safe. He is sleepwalking into this second wave of the pandemic.”
On Monday the province report:
- Over the last 24 hours, 1,549 new cases were identified.
- To date, 34,779 Albertans have recovered from COVID-19.
- There were five additional deaths reported, and the total number of COVID-19 related deaths is now 476.
- Due to ongoing technical difficulties, exact testing figures are not available, but will be shared as soon as possible.
- All zones across the province have cases:
- Calgary Zone: 4,845 active cases and 15,152 recovered
- South Zone: 664 active cases and 2,824 recovered
- Edmonton Zone: 5,991 active cases and 12,966 recovered
- North Zone: 748 active cases and 2,472 recovered
- Central Zone: 812 active cases and 1,286 recovered
- 106 active cases and 79 recovered cases in zones to be confirmed
- Additional information, including case totals, is online
- Currently, 304 schools, about 13 per cent, are on alert or have outbreaks, with 1,803 cases in total.
- Of those, 135 schools are on alert, with 204 total cases.
- Outbreaks are declared in 178 schools, including 64 on watch, with a total of 909 cases.
- To date, in-school transmission has likely occurred in 182 schools. Of these, 99 have had only one new case.
- 264 schools have now been removed from the alert list.
- There are 463 active cases and 2,195 recovered cases at continuing care facilities; 298 facility residents have died.
- Alberta is reporting case numbers and information daily, including on weekends and holidays.
Changes to contact tracing
- With the significant increase in new cases and demand, the Alberta Health Services contact tracing team is facing a slowly growing backlog.
- To maximize the impact of case investigation and contact tracing, AHS will not call diagnosed cases who are no longer infectious.
- Instead of working in sequence, AHS will start with the most recently diagnosed cases to reach as many recent cases as possible. This will have the greatest benefit in preventing further transmission.
- Anyone not receiving a call will receive a text message from AHS providing them with guidance on if and when their isolation period has ended.
- Starting Nov. 24, all Albertans who test positive for COVID-19 will also receive a text message to notify them when their isolation period will end.
- AHS continues to work to further increase its teams of contact tracers.
Targeted COVID-19 measures
- Targeted measures are aimed at protecting the health system and limiting the spread of COVID-19.
- There is a temporary ban on group fitness classes, team sport activities and group performance activities in Edmonton and surrounding areas, Calgary and surrounding areas, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray and Red Deer. This will be in place until Nov. 27.
- In all regions under enhanced status, restaurants, bars, lounges and pubs are required to stop liquor sales by 10 p.m. and close by 11 p.m. This will be in place until Nov. 27.
- In all regions under enhanced status, there are additional measures being implemented:
- 50-person limit on wedding ceremonies and funeral services.
- All faith-based organizations should limit attendance at services to one-third of capacity.
- It is strongly recommended that no social gatherings occur in private homes.
- It is strongly recommended that Albertans living in areas under enhanced precautions not move social gatherings to neighbouring communities with lower rates.
- Employers should reduce the number of staff in office buildings at any one time.
- All existing guidance, measures and legal orders remain in place in all areas.
- If these measures are not successful, it will be necessary to implement more restrictive measures.
Albertans downloading tracer app
- All Albertans are encouraged to download the secure ABTraceTogether app, which is integrated with provincial contact tracing. The federal app is not a contact tracing app.
- Secure contact tracing is an effective tool to stop the spread by notifying people who were exposed to a confirmed case so they can isolate and be tested.
- Early issues have been fixed so the app can run in the background of all mobile devices.
- 274,649 Albertans are using the ABTraceTogether app, 66 per cent on iOS and 34 per cent on Android. On average, 20 new users are registering every hour.
- Secure contact tracing is a cornerstone of Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy.
Symptoms for children and adults
- Everyone in Alberta should monitor themselves for symptoms.
- Adults over age 18 should stay home and get tested if they have any COVID-19 symptoms.
- Children should refer to the daily screening checklist for instructions.
- If a child has any of the core symptoms, they need to isolate for at least 10 days from the start of symptoms or until the symptoms are gone, whichever is longer, or until they test negative for COVID-19.
- Core symptoms for children: cough, fever, shortness of breath, loss of sense of taste or smell.
- For any other symptoms in a child, please assess the number of symptoms and follow the guidance in the checklist.
International traveller COVID-19 pilot
- An Alberta-Canada joint pilot program is testing an alternative to the 14-day quarantine requirement for international travellers while continuing to protect Canadians from COVID-19.
- Participants are closely monitored daily for symptoms and must follow enhanced preventive health measures, such as wearing masks in public places and avoiding visiting high-risk groups.
Influenza immunization
- Everyone, especially seniors and those at risk, is encouraged to get immunized against influenza.
- As of Nov. 16, more than 1,142,419 Albertans have received their flu shot.
- By appointment, doctors’ offices and participating pharmacies will immunize ages five and up.
- By appointment, public health clinics will immunize ages under five, their household members; people with no provincial health number; and where they are the only provider.
School health measures
- An online map lists schools with two or more confirmed cases, updated every school day.
- Government distributed more than 1.6 million reusable masks to 740,000 students and 90,000 staff.
- A re-entry tool kit is available for parents and students.
MyHealth Records quick access
- Parents and guardians can access the COVID-19 test results for children under the age of 18 through MyHealth Records (MHR) as soon as they are ready.
- 445,487 Albertans have MHR accounts.
Access to justice
- For the latest updates on court operations, please visit:
