What you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Thursday, Nov. 5
Alberta has shattered its daily COVID-19 record once again with 'about 800' new cases
The latest:
- Alberta shattered another COVID-19 record Thursday, recording "about 800" new cases.
- Detailed case numbers were not availabledue to technical problems with the province's reporting system.
- Cases are so high in Alberta that contact tracers will no longer notify people who have been found to be in close contact to an infected person, unless they are deemed to belinked to a "high-priority setting."
- Meanwhile, the number of active cases in Alberta care homes has more than quadrupledfrom 102 to 418 in just one month.There are now 41 outbreaks in continuing care facilities around the province.
- COVID-19 outbreaks at eightmajor Alberta hospitals are putting pressure on a system that is already wrestling with a record number of novel coronaviruspatients.
What you need to know today in Alberta
Alberta shattered another COVID-19 record on Thursday, recording "about 800" new cases over the past 24 hours.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's top doctor, said people may soon be faced withnew public health measures to get the numbers under control.
"We are looking closely at what steps we need to recommend to governmentto protect the health of Albertans,"Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health,said at a news conference. "But we need your help as well."
Meanwhile, Alberta's continuing care homes are bracing for another battle against COVID-19. The number of active cases in care homes has more than quadrupled, increasingfrom 102 to 418 cases, in just one month. There are now 41 outbreaks in continuing care facilities around the province.
"Dr. Hinshaw has been in communication with continuing care operators in Edmonton and Calgary recommending that they consider limiting visitors to the essential designated family/support people (and others in extenuating circumstances) while the transmission rates are high," said Alberta Health representative Tom McMillan in a statement to CBC.
"In the rest of the province, she advised operators to consider the transmission in the area where visitors are coming from and ensure that all necessary precautions are in place to limit the spread of COVID-19."
Hinshawstressed this week 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, 343 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.
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 availablebut that no app is a magic bullet reducing close contacts and following guidance remains the most effective strategy for reducing spread.
Premier Jason 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,appliesin theCalgary and Edmonton areas.
The province is also recommending voluntary measures in both cities: wearingnon-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 three hospitals in Calgary and five in Edmonton. There is also oneadditional hospitalin 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.
Here's the regional breakdown of active cases reported on Wednesday. Numbers for Thursday were not immediately available due to technical problems with the province's reporting system:
- Edmonton zone: 2,642, up from 2,581on Tuesday.
- Calgary zone: 2,610, up from 2,532.
- North zone: 400, downfrom 413.
- South zone: 333, up from 317.
- Central zone: 224, down from 235.
- Unknown: 21, down from 32.
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 7:30p.m. ET on Thursday,provinces and territories inCanada had reported a cumulative total of 251,338confirmed or presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 207,998as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 10,381.
Canada has quietly revised its guidelines on how COVID-19 spreads to include the risk of aerosol transmission, weeks after other countries and international health organizations acknowledged the airborne threat of the coronavirus.
"SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spreads from an infected person to others through respiratory droplets and aerosols created when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, shouts, or talks," the updated guidance said.
"The droplets vary in size from large droplets that fall to the ground rapidly (within seconds or minutes) near the infected person, to smaller droplets, sometimes called aerosols, which linger in the air under some circumstances."
Ontario reported 998additional cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. Of those new cases, 350 were found in Toronto, 269 in Peel and 71 in York Region. The seven-day average for casesis now up to 982.Updated hospitalization data was not yet available, but as of Wednesday, the province hadreported 367 hospitalizations, with 75 in ICU.
It is moving to a colour-coded system to communicate what regions are under what restrictions, saying the new system will be an "early warning system" and allow the province to scale public health measures based on what's happening in a given region.
B.C's health minister and a top public health official on Tuesday reminded people in the province to keep gatherings small,saying "much of the recent transmission" in the province has been connected to get-togethers.
Health officials inSaskatchewanare introducing a new measure requiring masks in public indoor spaces inSaskatoon, Regina and Prince Albert.The measure, which will be in place for 28 days before being reviewed, takes effect Friday.
InManitoba, the Red Cross has been asked toprovide staff to help care for residents at some long-term care homes dealing withCOVID-19 outbreaks.
Quebecreported an eight-day low of 871 new COVID-19 infections and 34 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, including five recorded in the 24 hours prior. The Tuesday figures put the number of peoplein hospital in the province at 526, with 85 receiving intensive care.
The Public Health Agency of Canadais now recommending Canadians choosethree-layer non-medical maskswitha filter layerto prevent the spread of COVID-19 as they prepareto spend more timeindoors over the winter.
According torecently updated guidelines,two layers of the maskshould be made of a tightly woven fabric, such as cotton or linen, and the middle layer should be a filter-type fabric, such as non-woven polypropylene fabric.
The Public Health websitenow includes instructionsfor making three-layer masks.
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 asymptomatictesting is currently unavailable for people with no known exposure to COVID-19.
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.
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