What you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Tuesday, Nov. 3
Alberta reported 2,268 new cases over the past 4 days
The latest:
- Alberta reported 2,268 new cases of COVID-19 over the past four days, an average of 567 cases per day.
- The province now has 6,110 active cases, up from 5,172 on Friday. Of those cases, 44 per cent have an unknown source of transmission.
- 15 more people have died, for a total of 338 deaths. There are 167 people in hospital, 27 of whom are in intensive care.
- The positivity rate across the province was 6.8 per cent on Monday, and nine per cent in Edmonton.
- There are 778 active cases among students and staff at 117 schools.
- Calgary and Edmonton each have more than 2,500 active cases. The R value (reproduction rate) in Calgary is now 1.2, while in Edmonton it's dropped to 1.
- COVID-19 outbreaks at seven major Alberta hospitals are putting pressure on a system that is already wrestling with a record number of novel coronavirus patients.
- Alberta's premier said Monday the single biggest thing people could do to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the province would be to stop with the private parties and social gatherings. Respecting public health orders that limit private gatherings to 15 people in Edmonton and Calgary would help get the spread under control, said Premier Jason Kenney.
- Meanwhile, some infectious disease experts are concerned that Alberta could easily see three to five times its current number in the coming months if serious steps are not taken.
- A pilot project kicked off Monday in Alberta that's intended to shorten quarantine times for international travellers and is the first of its kind in Canada. Travellers landing at Calgary International Airport or crossing at the Coutts land border crossing in southern Alberta can choose to take a COVID test immediately that could can reduce their quarantine time from two weeks to two days.
- The president of the Alberta Prison Justice Society is calling for drastic action after almost two-thirds of inmates at the Calgary Correctional Centre contracted COVID-19, with the outbreak growing to 139 cases among inmates, recently released inmates and staff as of Monday.
- Siksika First Nation, located roughly 70 kilometres east of Calgary, is closing all of its schools and its homeless shelter after COVID-19 cases within the community jumped from zero to more than a dozen in just a few days.
- Retirement homes are limiting visitors because of the threat of the virus, which has some families coming forward to say isolation is worse than COVID for loved ones in long-term care homes.
- A University of Calgary study examining sleep, empathy and mood during the first few months of isolation due to COVID-19 has found that women appear to be suffering more than men.
What you need to know today in Alberta
Alberta continues to see record-breaking increases in case numbers, with 2,268 new cases reported over the past four days — an average of 567 new cases per day.
"This is not good news. This is a problem," Alberta's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said Tuesday.
Hinshaw said that within the next few days it will become evident if recent public health measures like social gathering limits in Edmonton and Calgary are reducing the rate of transmission. If not, she said, it might be time to consider "other options."
Hinshaw stressed that COVID-19 is much more deadly than the seasonal flu. In the last four flu seasons, the peak deaths in a single year was 92. In just eight months, 338 people have died of COVID-19, despite what Hinshaw described as "extraordinary measures" to contain transmission.
"We are at a critical juncture in this pandemic. I know this has been a tiring year, and one that's taken a mental and physical toll on many. But we cannot give up. We must not give up. I believe one of the problems underlying pandemic fatigue is a sense of powerlessness, and for some, a loss of hope," she said.
"It can be easy to feel like COVID is happening to us, that it is beyond our control to make better or worse. But hope is not lost. We still have the power to collectively reverse the trend."
Alberta still has not adopted the federal contact tracing app, despite the provincial government saying it would do so in August. Hinshaw said the provincial app remains available but that no app is a magic bullet — reducing close contacts and following guidance remains the most effective strategy for reducing spread.
Before this past week, which set new records on multiple days in a row, the highest active case total was 3,022, which was reported on April 30 at the peak of the first wave.
Alberta's premier says the spread of COVID-19 could be better controlled in the province if people would stop partying.
Kenney warned Alberta Health Services may need to cancel elective surgeries, as it did in the spring, to make more room for potential COVID patients, should case numbers continue to escalate.
"We're all fed up with this," Kenney said Monday of the pandemic. "But now, more than ever, we need to take this seriously. And the single biggest thing people could do is just stop with the private parties and the social gatherings."
A new temporary measure, which caps attendance at 15 for events where people will be "mixing and mingling" like parties and baby showers, applies in the Calgary and Edmonton areas.
The province is also recommending voluntary measures in both cities: wearing non-medical masks in all indoor work settings, except where people are alone in an office or cubicle, or a barrier is in place, and limiting themselves to no more than three cohorts.
There are currently outbreaks at two hospitals in Calgary and five in Edmonton.
There are also two additional hospitals in Calgary with units under watch.
Dr. Laurie-Ann Baker, an ER doctor and associate zone medical director with Alberta Health Services (AHS), said their biggest focus right now is on the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary, which has six cases on three units.
One person has died due to the outbreaks at the PLC.
"We want to avoid hospitals and the community becoming overwhelmed," she said.
The president of the Alberta Prison Justice Society on Monday called for action as a large outbreak at the Calgary Correctional Centre has led to two-thirds of inmates testing positive.
Amanda Hart-Dowhun said, in an open letter to provincial Justice Minister Kaycee Madu and others, that drastic action needs to be taken to uphold the human rights of the inmates and keep them safe against the virus.
This could require releasing inmates temporarily into the community, she said.
The outbreak had grown to 139 cases as of Monday, with 103 inmates testing positive who remain at the jail, nine inmates who have since been released and are isolating at home, and 27 staff members, according to AHS.
The COVID-19 symptom list for Albertans under the age of 18 has changed.
As of Nov. 2, runny nose and sore throat have been removed from the list of symptoms that require mandatory isolation for children.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said the changes to the symptom list are intended to get children and teenagers back into child care or classrooms as quickly and safely as possible, while minimizing the risk of COVID-19.
According to Hinshaw, more than 3,400 children and youth who were tested for COVID-19 reported having a sore throat. Just over 700 of them had a sore throat as their only symptom, and less than one per cent of their tests came back positive.
The first international travellers to take part in a new COVID-19 screening program have arrived in Alberta.
Only international travellers arriving at the Calgary airport, or the Coutts land crossing, will be able to access the service.
The pilot program, a partnership between Alberta and the federal government, allows those travellers to take a COVID test immediately and can reduce their quarantine from two weeks to two days.
If the test comes back negative, travellers will be allowed to leave their place of quarantine as long as they remain in Alberta for the first 14 days and commit to getting a second test on Day 6 or 7 after arrival, at a community pharmacy participating in the pilot program, the province said.
The active case rate per 100,000 people is 161.7 in Calgary and 203.3 in Edmonton.
As of last week, Albertans have been administered more than 597,000 doses of the flu vaccine so far this year, an increase of more than 50,000 when compared with the same time period last year.
Health officials have said this year it is more important than ever to get the flu shot because of the pandemic.
Here's the regional breakdown of active cases reported on Tuesday:
- Edmonton zone: 2,581, up from 2,312, on Friday.
- Calgary zone: 2,532, up from 2,034.
- North zone: 413, up from 353.
- South zone: 317, up from 276.
- Central zone: 235, up from 178.
- Unknown: 32, up from 19.
Find out which neighbourhoods or communities have the most cases, how hard people of different ages have been hit, the ages of people in hospital, how Alberta compares to other provinces and more in: Here are the latest COVID-19 statistics for Alberta — and what they mean
What you need to know today in Canada:
As of 10:35 a.m. ET on Tuesday, provinces and territories in Canada had reported a cumulative total of 241,313 confirmed or presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 200,889 as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 10,222.
Ontario reported 1,050 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, with most in Toronto and surrounding regions. The seven-day average of new cases of COVID-19 increased to 950.
As of Tuesday morning, the province was reporting a total of 78,705 cases, with 67,244 of those listed as resolved. There were 14 additional deaths reported, bringing the death toll in the province to 3,166.
The number of people in hospital stood at 357, with 73 in intensive care and 47 on a ventilator, the province reported.
Quebec reported 871 new cases on Tuesday and added 34 deaths to its count of COVID-19 fatalities, with five of those reported as occurring in the previous 24 hours.
The province, which has recorded more than 108,000 cases since the pandemic began, reported 526 COVID-19 hospitalizations with 85 in ICU.
Manitoba's premier said on Monday the province is seriously considering a temporary curfew as part of its plan to tackle growing case numbers. Brian Pallister said there have been reports of large parties being promoted online in Winnipeg, which is now considered a red zone on the province's pandemic response scale.
In British Columbia, which is also seeing rising COVID-19 case numbers, Health Minister Adrian Dix spoke out after social media postings showed a large number of Halloween partiers come together in a Vancouver neighbourhood.
"It's a very irritating event because I think it was a visible symbol of people not following the rules of gathering, which are limited to 50 people," Dix said.
Self-assessment and supports:
With winter cold and influenza season approaching, Alberta Health Services will prioritize Albertans for testing who have symptoms, and those groups which are at higher risk of getting or spreading the virus.
General asymptomatic testing is no longer available to anyone, but voluntary asymptomatic testing is available to:
- School teachers and staff.
- Health-care workers.
- Staff and residents at long-term care and congregate living facilities.
- Any Albertans experiencing homelessness.
- Travellers requiring a test before departure.
Additional groups can also access asymptomatic testing if required.
The province says Albertans who have returned to Canada from other countries must self-isolate. Unless your situation is critical and requires a call to 911, Albertans are advised to call Health Link at 811 before visiting a physician, hospital or other health-care facility.
If you have symptoms, even mild, you are to self-isolate for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms, until the symptoms have disappeared.
You can find Alberta Health Services' latest coronavirus updates here.
The province also operates a confidential mental health support line at 1-877-303-2642 and addiction help line at 1-866-332-2322, both available 24 hours a day.
Online resources are available for advice on handling stressful situations and ways to talk with children.
There is a 24-hour family violence information line at 310-1818 to get anonymous help in more than 170 languages, and Alberta's One Line for Sexual Violence is available at 1-866-403-8000, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.