SITUATION UPDATE – MAY 27-28, 2020

I have combined information from press conferences, news releases and other sources from yesterday and today. Anything in green is an update on something from the last one I sent out or on an outbreak. Anything in bold and italics are my comments. 

If you would like to see anything that I sent out previously, or have a question on a particular topic, please ask me and I will be pleased to send to you whatever I have. 

If anyone has anything helpful to add, please send it to me and I will include it.

Linda ( send Linda an email.)

• Potential Treatments 
• Around the World
• Canada
• Other Provinces
• Alberta
• Good News Stories

POTENTIAL TREATMENTS/TESTS

–WORLD NEWS–

Nations Protest China’s Treatment of Hong Kong 

            Riot police were deployed across Hong Kong today after mass protests. 

            U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Hong Kong no longer qualified for special treatment under US law, potentially dealing a crushing blow to its status as a major financial hug. “No reasonable person can assert today that Hong Kong maintains a high degree of autonomy from China, given facts on the ground,” he said. Beijing reacted angrily saying the US action “is the most barbaric, the most unreasonable and the most shameless.”

            In a further response to China’s actions, the governments of the US, UK, Australia and Canada said China’s move was ‘in direct conflict with its international obligations.’

            A joint statement said direct rule from Beijing “ would curtail the Hong Kong people’s liberties, and in doing so, dramatically erode Hong Kong’s autonomy and the system that made it so prosperous.”

            Japan has also voiced concern, saying it was “seriously concerned” about the Chinese parliament’s decision, describing Hong Kong as an “extremely important partner.”

            Taiwan accused China of ‘shattering’ the city’s freedom, offering Hong Kong residents the chance to escape Beijing’s rule by moving to Taiwan under a plan for ‘humanitarian assistance.’            

            China’s troops have said that they are ready to ‘smash’ any protests against the bill. 

            If the US revokes Hong Kong’s special trade status, Hong Kong identity card holders might lose their ability to visit the US without applying for a visa in advance. Hong Kong’s financial system could also be disrupted if the US revokes the current exchange arrangement for Hong Kong dollars. 

            The New York Times reported that US officials were preparing to cancel the visas of thousands of Chinese students linked to the People’s Liberation Army. Robert Spalding, a US-China expert at the Hudson Institute said “If Washington opts for hardline measures it would risk all of the financial connectivity that China has to the free market. 

            Taiwan promised to settle any Hong Kong people who flee for political reasons, offering help from employment to counselling. 

            “The decision to impose national security legislation on Hong Kong shatters China’s solemm promise in 1997 to respect Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms,” Taiwan’s foreign ministry said. “Taiwan will be ready to offer necessary humanitarian assistance.”

            Lord Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, has described the new as ‘a frontal assault’ on the relative freedoms granted to the semi-autonomous city and called on world leaders to stand up to Beijing and help Hong Kong fight for its freedom.

            China blocked a UN Security Council meeting to discuss the legislation. 

UN Postpones Climate Change Summit

            Due to the pandemic, the UN is delaying a climate change summit until late 2021. The summit known as COP26 was due to take place in Britain and was billed as the most important since the 2015 summit that produced the Paris Agreement. The summit will now be held November 1-12, 2021, and will be held in Glasgow, Scotland as originally planned,  

World wide  5,909,686cases; 362,102 deaths;  2,583,007 recoveries

Just to keep this in perspective: 

• flu affects 1 billion people and causes 291,000 to 646,000 deaths worldwide (source: Johns Hopkins Medicine)
• The Spanish flu affected 1/3 of the people in the world at the time and killed between 50-100 million people. 

Around the World 

COVID-19 affects 213 countries and territories around the world. 

Brazil

• Brazil has 438,238 cases and 26,754 deaths, 158,593 have recovered.
• Brazil is the 2nd highest in the world, behind only the US. It is 6^th in death toll, but these are likely still very underreported. 
•  

Britain

• Britain now has 270,508 cases and 37,919 deaths. There is no information on recoveries.
• UK is now the 4th highest in cases and is still the 2^nd highest in total deaths. 
• UK has the 3^rd highest deaths per million people – 546 per million, behind Belgium and Spain.
• Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that next week that up to 6 people from different households will be able to meet outdoors.

France

• France has 186,364 cases and 28,554 deaths, 65,879 people have recovered. 
• France is 7^th in overall cases, and 5^th in total deaths as well as 5th in deaths per million – 437 per million

• Germany has 182,196 cases with 8,498 deaths, 162,200 people have recovered. 
• Germany is 8^th in overall cases, but its death toll is much lower than other countries with high case numbers.

Germany

India

• India now has 165,799 and 4,711 deaths, with 4,426 recoveries.
• India is now 9^th in overall cases. 
• In addition to dealing with COVID-19, India has also been hit by a scorching heat wave and a locus infestation.]

Italy

• Italy is now reporting 231,732 cases and 33,142 deaths, 144,5581 people have recovered.
• Italy is 6^th in overall case numbers.  
• Italy now has the 4^rd highest deaths per million people – 545 per million, behind Belgium and Spain, and UK.

Russia

• Russia’s cases continue to climb but it has slipped to third in cases behind only the US and Brazil. Russia has 379,051 cases, 4,142 deaths and 131,129 are reported as recovered.

South Korea

• South Korea reported 79 new cases today, the most for almost 8 weeks, total cases now are 11,402. 
• At least 82 cases this week have been linked to a logistics run by one of the country’s largest online shopping firms. 

Spain

• Spain is reporting 237,906 cases and 27,119 deaths, 196,958 people have recovered.
• Spain is now the 5^th highest in cases behind the US, Brazil and Russia and the UK, and in deaths behind US, UK, and Italy and France.
• However, Spain is the 2^nd  highest in deaths per million population – 580 per million people, behind only Belgium.  

United States

• The US now has 1,725,275 cases and 100,572 deaths, 479,969 have recovered.
• US deaths are 304 per million people, 9^th behind Belgium, Spain, Italy, UK, France, Sweden the Netherlands, and Ireland. 
• Washington State Department of Health admitted to counting at least 5 deaths from other causes as being COVID-19 deaths, including, in the most egregious example, a man who actually died from 33 gunshots to the head.  Governor Jay Inslee defended the miscounting and attacked the report. Critics are asking how many more of the 1,078 reported deaths from COVID-19 are also from other causes. [Previous reports from all over the US, showed that hospitals were counting many non-COVID deaths as being from COVID because they can claim more money from state and federal insurance if the deaths are from COVID.] 

Canada  

• Confirmed cases         88,501
• Probable cases                    11
• Deaths                          6,877
• Recoveries                  46,478
• No. of Tests:          1,502,990

Areas in Canada with cases of COVID-19 as of MAY 27-28, 5:00 pm MDT

Province, territory or other                    Confirmed        Probable       Deaths   Recovered

• British Columbia                                    2,558                   0             164           2,144
• Alberta                                                     6,955                   0             143           6,106
• Saskatchewan                                            639                   0               10              559
• Manitoba                                                    283                 11                 7              271
• Ontario                                                   26,866                   0          2,189         20,673
• Quebec                                                   49,702                   0          4,302         15,319
• New Brunswick                                         126                   0                 0              120
• Nova Scotia                                              1,055                   0               59              975
• Prince Edward Island                                 27                   0                 0                27
• Newfoundland and Labrador                 261                   0                 3              255
• Yukon                                                            11                   0                 0                11
• Northwest Territories                                  5                   0                 0                  5
• Nunavut                                                         0                   0                 0                  0
• Repatriated travellers                                13                   0                 0     Unknown

Up-to-date information is available at Canada.ca/COVID-19

–Canadian News –

Canada and China

            The Conservatives made a motion that would have reconvened the Special Committee on Canada-China relations to address the catastrophe in Hong Kong. The Conservatives wanted to afford the committee the opportunity to address the week’s dramatic developments in Hong Kong. The Liberals, New Democrats and Greens combined to defeat the motion. 

            The Canadian government has been conspicuously absent from an international multi-party effort involving more than 300 parliamentarians and former diplomats from 30 democracies that is mobilizing in support of Hong Kong’s beleaguered democrats. 

            At the same time, a scandal unfolded in a discussion group run by the staff of Digital Government Minister Joyce Murray on the heavily-censored Chinese social-media platform WeChat. Murray’s WeChat group site was promoting a lawsuit and soliciting fundraising against Global News Reporter Sam Cooper for his investigative effort exposing how Beijing’s overseas influence-meddling operation, the United Front Work Department, had been organizing mass purchases of PPE in Canada for shipment back to China while concealing the extent of the pandemic in China. 

Military Report on Quebec Seniors’ Homes

            More than 1000 military members are deployed in 25 of Quebec’s hardest-hit seniors’ homes. A report released yesterday detailed 3 main problems: improper separation between areas with COVID-19 infections and those without; failure to properly wear personal protective equipment; and severe staff shortages. 

            Premier Francois Legault has asked the military to continue in the homes until more staff can be hired. The Quebec government will be launching an advertising campaign with the goal of recruiting 10,000 people to work as orderlies in the province’s long-term care homes by mid-September. 

Temporary Ministerial Exemption Process to Allow Inter-Provincial Trade of Meat

            The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has announced a temporary Ministerial Exemption process to allow interprovincial trade of meat and poultry products from establishments that are not federally licensed.  The exemption is to prepare for possible disruptions in the meat supply system should processing facilities suffer from reduced capacity related to the pandemic. 

Provinces

British Columbia

• British Columbia is currently in Phase 2 of its four-phase relaunch plan. Phase 2 allows scheduling of elective surgeries and reopening of dine-in restaurants, retail, museums and libraries under strict protocols, 
• Phase 3 is scheduled to begin in June which would allow reopening of the hospitality industry, parks, movie theatres, K-12 schools and post-secondary institutions, with infection-reduction protocols in place. 
• Phase 4 would allow large gatherings and the restart of international tourism. 
• BC has a low testing rate but has relied on quickly testing suspected cases and contact tracing.  

New  Brunswick

• The new case in Campbeltown was that of a health-care worker who had travelled outside of New Brunswick did not self-isolate upon return and infected other people in the area. There are now 6 cases in the cluster. Officials are contact tracing but anticipate more cases as the worker was in contact with numerous people over a 2-week period. 
• Premier Blaine Higgs called the worker “irresponsible” and charges could be possible. 
• The Campbelltown area has taken a step backward to the “orange” level in the reopening plan, and testing will be offered to everyone in the area, starting Friday.
• New   Brunswick’s legislature closed after 2 days due to the outbreak. 
• The planned loosening of some restrictions in the province’s recovery plan has also been delayed by a week to June 5. This includes increasing outside gatherings to 50 people, indoor religious services of up to 50 people, low-contact team sports, and the opening of a long list of facilities including swimming pools, gyms, rinks, water parks, and yoga and dance studios.  

Ontario

• Premier Doug Ford has announced the province would be stepping up inspections at long-term care homes across the province, beginning with inspections of the five facilities the military identified. He also said the province would be taking over control of four of the homes and one additional one (the last home the military was at had the fewest problems and the situation was stabilized). 
• Ontario is administering 10,000 tests daily, but the percentage of positive tests is still higher than in other parts of the country. 
• Some parts of Ontario have more cases than others. Ottawa and Thunder Bay, for example, are less affected than Toronto. 

Prince Edward Island

• Premier Dennis King has extended the public health emergency to June 14.
• New rules have been announced to allow people with seasonal cottages to visit the island. They will have to submit an application beginning June 1 which will go through a risk assessment before being approved. Approval will depend on where the applicant is coming from and the state of COVID-19 in that location, the number of people travelling, their plan for a 2-week self-isolation once they arrive, and their self-isolation support. Seasonal resident will be tested before their quarantine period is completed. 
• PEI will move into the third phase of its reopening plan on Monday. Phase 3 will allow in-house dining at restaurants, participation of small groups in recreational and some sporting activities, and libraries will be able to open. In addition, long-term care home residents will be able to have outdoor visits from family and friends, by appointment. 

Quebec

• Quebec has the highest number of cases and deaths in Canada. The province is still registering more than 500 cases a day. There were 563 in the last 24 hours. 
• It is thought that Quebec’s cases may be so high because their spring break occurred just before the provincial and federal travel advisories, so more people may have travelled to other countries where the virus was already circulating, and brought it back with them.
• Seniors homes continue to account for the most cases and deaths. 340 seniors’ homes throughout the province have at least 1 person infected. There are more than 2700 people infected in seniors’ homes. 
• More than 1000 soldiers are deployed in 25 of the province’s hardest-hit long-term care homes. 
• Outside of seniors; residences, the infection rate is decreasing. Hospitalizations are decreasing as are numbers of people in intensive care which are now 178.
• Parts of the province outside Montreal have reopened. Some child-care services and schooling started in early May, and checkpoints meant to restrict non-essential travel within the province have also been taken down. 
• Courthouses will gradually reopen starting Monday with reduced seating and installation of plexiglass to protect clerks and judges. 

Alberta

MAY 27-28, 2020, 5:15 p.m.

–Premier Jason Kenney —

Public State of Emergency To End

            Premier Jason Kenney announced in the Legislature that the public state of emergency would not be extended when the end date is reached on June 15. 

            He believes it is critical Alberta moves forward to focus efforts on the elderly and on all those most at risk during this pandemic, like the elderly, those who are immunocompromised, or have other underlying conditions. 

            In Canada, 95% of COVID-19 deaths are in people over 60.  The average age of people dying from the virus in Alberta is 83, and 4 out of 5 of those are in care facilities. The risk of death from the virus in those under 65 is 0.0006%. 

“For most Albertans, the risk of death from other pathogens accidents and traffic fatalities is actually higher than it is from COVID-19.” 

            The Premier admits there will be more infections, more outbreaks, more people in hospital, and sadly, more deaths. His response is to protect the most vulnerable in the strongest way possible. 

            “We cannot continue indefinitely to impair the social and economic and mental and physical health of the broader population for what could be a year.”       And further that Albertans do not “need every aspect of their social and economic lives micro-managed by government.”

            The Premier is concerned about the 77,000 Albertans waiting for surgeries and 46,000 in the queue longer than recommended, on hold until recently because of COVID-19. He believes it is critical Alberta moves forward to focus efforts on the elderly and on all those most at risk during this pandemic. 

            Throughout the world, there is concern about a second wave, but also that a shutdown should be avoided if there is a second wave, in favour of “more targeted approaches.” Former governor of the Bank of Canada, David Dodge, says there is no money to shut down again the way we did. Alberta’s deficit this year will be around $20 billion. The federal government was over $260 billion, and well on its way to $1 trillion. 

            Other countries have the same concerns. Norway figures they would probably have come out just as well by not closing but staying open with precautions to stop the spread. 

            The WHO is now saying that Sweden’s model – that did exactly that – is probably the way to go going forward. 

–Premier Jason Kenney and Education Minister Adrianna LaGrange–

Bill 15 – Choice in Education Act

It is a fundamental human right for parents to make the choice as to how their children will be educated.  The legislation enshrines the belief of Albertans in freedom, diversity, pluralism and choice as well as parental responsibility because we believe that parents know better than bureaucrats what is best for their kids.

The act will protect an expand student access to the full range of schooling options while strengthening parents’ rights as primary decision maker in choosing their kids’ education.

Protect status and funding of Alberta’s alternative schools, and reduces red tape and provides more freedom for parents who choose to homeschool their children. 

The Premier also talked about opening vocational schools in conjunction with NAIT and SAIT.

 The Choice in Education survey was completed by more than 50,000 Albertans. The results showed that there was strong support for choice including public, separate, francophone, independent, home schooling and early childhood education. The Act aligns with the results of the survey. Bill 15 enhances choice for alternative schools and home education while also enhancing what we have. 

The proposed Choice in Education Act:

• Amends the preamble of the Education Act to include recognition of Section 26.3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.”
• Protects parental choice while ensuring a strong public education system by indicating support for all types of schooling.
• Supports the creation of new charter schools, including vocation-focused charter schools.
• Protects the status and funding of independent schools.
• Provides new options for parents who choose to home-school their children.If the Act is passed in the legislature, it will take effect on September 1. School choice has saved a quarter of a million dollars a year, and $1.8 billion dollars over the past 8 years, as it costs less per child for charter schools and homeschooling. Not only does this save Albertans money, it also creates a much more efficient system rather than forcing competition for resources.  –Doug Schweitzer, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General–Bill 16 – Victims of Crime Bill 16 expands the scope of the Victims of Crime Fund to ensure victims have the support they need, and to promote public safety and prevent crime.If passed, the Victims of Crime (Strengthening Public Safety) Amendment Act, 2020 will expand the scope of the Victims of Crime Fund to include public safety initiatives that deter crime to prevent victimization while continuing to provide supports to victims of serious crimes. The expanded scope of the fund would help support preventative measures through the Alberta Law Enforcement Response Teams (ALERT), the Rural Alberta Provincial Integrated Defence (RAPID) Force, drug treatment courts and the hiring of more Crown prosecutors. More support means more resources to combat organized and serious crime such as illegal drug and gun trafficking and online child exploitation, help stop people stuck in the cycle of addiction-related crime from reoffending, and ensure we have enough Crown prosecutors to keep criminals off the streets so they can’t endanger Albertans in their communities.To further improve supports for victims of crime, the government has established a working group co-chaired by Tracy Allard, MLA for Grande Prairie, and Angela Pitt, MLA for Airdrie, to review the financial benefits program and consult on the creation of a new victims assistance model that will be launched in 2021. The working group will work with stakeholders and other Albertans this year to get their input on a new model.In the interim, the bill proposes changes to focus on victims who have experienced severe crimes with an interim victims assistance program to provide new areas of support:

• Helping victims with out-of-pocket expenses resulting from violent crime, such as emergency transportation or protective measures.
• Speeding up access to counselling for victims of serious violent crime – including sexual assault – and families of homicide victims.
• Providing court support to victims and witnesses.

Victims of crime can also still apply for:

• Death benefits, which reimburses the families of homicide victims for funeral costs.
• Supplemental benefits, which is a monthly payment to help victims with severe injuries that require them to be dependent on others for basic functions and daily activities.

A victim surcharge for provincial fines goes directly to the Victims of Crime Fund, which supports a province-wide network of victim service units and services. Effective April 1, the surcharge increased by five per cent to a total surcharge of 20 per cent, allowing government to increase funding for victim services and public safety initiatives from about $40 million to about $60 million a year.

–Children’s Services Minister Rebecca Schulz–

Preschools can open June 1

            Alberta preschools will be allowed to open on June 1. This is because preschools are similar to child-care centres which have already been allowed to open. 

            Preschools programs offer programs for four or less hours per day for pre-school-aged children, and because most preschools have morning and afternoon programs, that will give staff time in between to properly sanitize facilities. 

            The programs will have limits of 10 people, including adults and children. There is a lengthy list of guidelines for preschools wanting to reopen, including guidance on use of shared spaces, sanitation and more, similar to those required for child care centres. The guidelines are available here.

–Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw–

Possible Case of the Kawasaki Disease-like Condition

One possible case of Multi-System Inflammatory Condition (MSIC) is being investigated. [This is the rare illness which occurs in children/teens that I have mentioned a couple of times which is similar to Kawasaki disease and is thought to be related to recent COVID-19 infection but does not show up until 2 weeks to a month after the child/teen has recovered. Symptoms include high fever, rash, and abdominal pain, and inflammatory response in multiple organs, but it is treatable with steroids.] This is in the process of becoming a reportable illness so it can be treated and traced quickly. The child is currently in hospital in stable condition. 

If a parent suspects their child does have this syndrome, the parents should call their doctor, call 811, or take them in to the hospital, depending on how ill the child is. Children with MSIC are not infectious and cannot pass on COVID-19, as the MSIC does not present until weeks after the infection. 

Comparison with Flu

Dr. Hinshaw says the deaths from COVID-19 in Alberta are 1.5 times as high as those from flu in previous years.  

Possibility for Moving up Relaunch. 

As Albertans have done so well at not spreading the coronavirus, consideration of an earlier date for Phase 2 and 3 is under consideration, but no decision has been made yet. It is also possible that some openings scheduled for Phase 3 may be moved into Phase 2. Gyms and arenas are among the businesses under discussion. 

NHL Playoffs

            Public health is now developing guidelines that could be used to allow Edmonton to become a hub for NHL playoffs. This could include considering NHL players a cohort which would permit cohort quarantine which is allowable under the health guidelines. 

Case updates

The number of active cases, hospitalizations and people in ICU continue to go down. 

There were 25 new cases yesterday and 29 today, making 652 total active cases. 6,160 people have recovered.  There are 503 people now in hospital, and 4 remain in ICU. There were 2 more deaths yesterday, and 2 more today. The deaths yesterday were both in Calgary, and the 2 today were of a 80 year old woman in Brooks and a woman in her 90s from Calgary.  

Latest updates

• 29 new cases have been reported, bringing the number of active cases to 652. 6,160 people have recovered.
• Cases have been identified in all zones across the province: 
  • 518 active cases and 4,208 recovered cases in the Calgary zone
  • 55 active cases and 1,171 recovered cases in the South zone
  • 53 active cases and 462 recovered cases in the Edmonton zone
  • 22 active cases and 201 recovered cases in the North zone
  • 2 active cases and 96 recovered cases in the Central zone
  • 2 active cases and 22 recovered cases in zones yet to be confirmed
  • Additional information, including the total number of cases, is reported online.
• There have been 654 cases to date with an unknown exposure.
• The total deaths are 143: 104 in the Calgary zone; 16 in the North zone; 13 in the Edmonton zone; 9 in the South zone; and one in the Central zone.
• There are 65 active cases and 647 recovered cases at continuing care facilities. 108 residents at these facilities have died.
• So far, 226,690 Albertans have been tested and labs have performed 249,705 tests, with 3,756  tests completed in the last 24 hours.
• Any individual exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, including cough, fever, runny nose, sore throat or shortness of breath, is eligible for testing. People can access testing by completing the COVID-19 self-assessment online. A separate self-assessment tool is available for health-care and shelter workers, enforcement and first responders. 
• Aggregate data, showing cases by age range and zone, as well as by local geographic areas, is available online at alberta.ca/covid19statistics.

 (Central zone and areas around Calgary includes:

• Ponoka County – 3 cases, 1 active, 0 deaths, 2 recovered
• City of Camrose – 2 cases, 0 active, 1 death, 1 recovered
• County of Camrose – 1 cases, 0 active, 0 deaths, 1 recovered
• Red Deer – 37 cases; 1 active, 0 deaths, 36 recovered
• City of Lacombe – 2 cases, 0 active, 0 deaths, 2 recovered
• County of Lacombe – 3 cases; 0 active, 0 deaths; 3 recovered
• County of Stettler – 3 cases, 0 active, 0 death; 3 recovered
• Red Deer County – 16 cases, 1 active, 0 deaths, 15 recovered
• Clearwater County – 2 cases; 0 active, 0 deaths; 2 recovered
• Mountain View County – 9 cases, 1 active, 0 deaths, 8 recovered
• Kneehill County – 4 cases, 0 active, 0 deaths; 4 recovered
• MD of Bighorn – 18 cases; 0 active, 0 deaths; 18 recovered
• MD of Rockyview – 44 cases; 4 active, 0 deaths; 40 recovered
• Wheatland County – 10 cases; 1 active, 0 deaths; 9 recovered
• ID No. 9 (Banff & Canmore) – 4 cases; 1 active, 0 deaths; 3 recovered
• Foothills County – 726 cases, 23 active, 8 deaths; 695 recovered
• City of Airdrie – 47 cases, 3 active, 1 deaths, 43 recovered
• City of Calgary – 3929 cases;  481 active, 95 deaths; 3353 recovered
• City of Brooks – 1096 cases, 24 active, 8 deaths, 1064 recovered
• County of Newell – 15 cases, 1 active, 0 deaths; 14 recovered
• Special Areas No. 2 – 2 cases; 0 active, 1 death; 1 recovered

I am including smaller towns within counties, where I can get the information.  The total of each smaller town is also included in the country total. If there is a town I have not included that you would like to see, please let me know and I will see if I can get that info. Sometimes more than 1 town is lumped in together or not separated from the county figures – for example, Penhold, Blackfalds and the area around Red Deer is included in Red Deer County figures. 

• Black Diamond – 29 cases, 3 active, 0 deaths, 26 recovered
• Canmore – 18 cases, 0 active, 0 deaths, 18 recovered
• Cochrane-Springbank – 21 cases, 3 active, 0 deaths, 18 recovered
• Crossfield – 6 cases, 0 active, 0 deaths, 6 recovered
• Chestermere – 32 cases, 3 active, 0 deaths, 29 recovered
• Didsbury/Carstairs – 5 cases,1 active, 0 deaths, 4 recovered
• Drumheller – 2 cases, 2 active
• High River – 537 cases, 12 active, 7 deaths, 518 recovered
• Innisfail/Bowden – 1 case, 0 active, 0 deaths, 1 recovered
• Okotoks – Priddis – 163 cases, 9 active, 1 deaths, 153 recovered
• Olds – 3 cases, 0 active, 0 deaths, 3 recovered
• Rocky Mountain House – 1 cases, 0 active, 0 deaths, 1 recovered
• Strathmore – 23 cases, 2 active, 0 deaths, 21 recovered
• Sundre – 2 case, 1active, 0 deaths, 1 recovered
• Sylvan Lake – 3 cases, 0 active; 0 deaths; 3 recovered
• Three Hills / Highway 21 – 4 cases, 0 active, 0 deaths, 4 recovered

OUTBREAK SITES 

• Outbreak = 2 or more cases which indicates community spread in the facility. Congregate sites are required to report even 1 possible case. Outbreak is declared over when 4 weeks have passed with no new cases. 

• Long-term care and supported living facilities with COVID-19 cases:   I have included the information from the Alberta government website plus information from other sources. 
• If a site is no longer on the list it is because there have been no new cases for four  weeks.
• There are 61 active cases and 649 recovered cases at continuing care facilities. 104 residents at these facilities have died.
  • Academy of Aging, Calgary
  • AgeCare Sunrise Gardens, Brooks
  • Bethany Care Centre, Calgary seniors home in the NW has confirmed 2 cases; one is a resident and 1 a staff member. The resident has since died. 
  • Bow View Manor, Calgary – this site was declared outbreak free, then another case occurred in a staff member acquired outside of the facility. There are no cases in other staff members or residents. 
  • Carewest Sarcee, Calgary has 12 cases and 2 deaths. 
  • High River Long term Care (in High River Hospital) – 2 deaths
  • Hillcrest Extendicare, Calgary, 2 deaths
  • Intercare Brentwood, Calgary, 2 deaths. 
  • Intercare  Chinook Care Centre, Calgary
  • JB Wood Continuing Care, High Prairie, 4 deaths
  • Kensington Village – Shepherd’s Care, Edmonton – 37 cases – 29 have recovered, 4 deaths
  • Manoir du Lac Retirement Home in McLennan. The last numbers were 38 confirmed cases and 7 deaths. 
  • McKenzie Towne Long Term Care, Calgary, 114 confirmed cases, 20 deaths. A new positive case was identified. 
  • Millrise Place, Calgary
  • Sunrise Gardens, Brooks

• Other outbreak sites:

• Amazon Distribution Centre, Balzac
• APS Calgary
• Calgary Alpha House 
• Calgary Drop-in Rehab Centre Society, Calgary – 10 cases, 2 recovered
• Calgary Refrigerated Warehouse, Calgary
• Canada Post, Calgary
• Cargill Meat Processing Plant/High River– 
• Cascade Recovery+, Calgary, 14 cases
• Co-op Macleod Trail, Calgary
• Co-op Midtown, Calgary
• ECCO Recycling and Energy Corporation, Calgary
• Fibrebuilt Manufacturing, Calgary
• Flyers force, Calgary
• Golden Happiness Bakery
• Harmony Beef – Meat packing, Rocky View County 
• Horizon Work Camp, Fort McMurray -5 cases
• JBS Foods/Brooks  
• Kearl Lake work camp north of Fort McMurray – there have now been 107 cases over a 6 week period.  Strict measures are in place which has reduced further spread.
• McDonalds, Brooks
• MCF Feedlots, Brooks
  •  Purolator, Calgary – 59 employees, 5 have recovered so far
  •  Terashita’s No Frills, Brooks
  • Subaru, Calgary, (Meridian Road)
  • Thomas Fresh, Calgary
  • Walmart Logistics Distribution Warehouse, Calgary
  • West Coast Reduction Ltd, Calgary

Aggressive measures are being implemented in all outbreaks and they are affective.  AHS and Public Health has learned from the earlier outbreaks and is putting aggressive measures in place immediately an outbreak is identified. Exposures that happened before measures put in place can continue to happen for up to 2 weeks because of the long incubation period. 

ABTraceTogether app

• The ABTraceTogether app will enhance current manual contact tracing and capacity, and facilitate early detection to help reduce the spread of the virus and better protect Albertans. It means Albertans will be contacted more quickly if they are at risk.
• Use of the app is voluntary; users must opt in.
• The app does not track the user’s physical location and does not use GPS. Protecting privacy is paramount; all contact data is only on the user’s phone and is deleted after 21 days.  
• Secure contact tracing is a cornerstone of Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy. More information on the app, including links to download it, can be found online.
• Since its launch, the app has attracted 194.666 registered users.