Update 145: COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta (Nov. 25, 5:30 p.m.)

by ahnationtalk on November 26, 2020328 Views

Alberta is under a state of public health emergency. Aggressive new measures will protect the health system and slow the spread of COVID-19.

Latest updates

Over the last 24 hours, 1,265 new cases were identified.
There are 355 people in hospital due to COVID-19, including 71 in intensive care.
There are 13,719 active cases in the province.
To date, 36,582 Albertans have recovered from COVID-19.
There was an increase of 15,644 tests (2,157,044 total) for a total of 1,432,857 people tested.
The testing positivity rate is 8.1 per cent.
All zones across the province have cases:
- Calgary Zone: 5,028 active cases and 15,837 recovered
- South Zone: 656 active cases and 2,919 recovered
- Edmonton Zone: 6,268 active cases and 13,769 recovered
- North Zone: 805 active cases and 2,597 recovered
- Central Zone: 876 active cases and 1,372 recovered
- 86 active cases and 88 recovered cases in zones to be confirmed
- Additional information, including case totals, is online.
Currently, 348 schools, about 15 per cent, are on alert or have outbreaks, with 1,207 cases in total.
- Of those, 174 schools are on alert, with 260 total cases.
- Outbreaks are declared in 179 schools, including 71 on watch, with a total of 947 cases.
So far, in-school transmission has likely occurred in 194 schools. Of these, 105 have had only one new case result.
Based on data available to date, 258 schools have been removed from the alert list.
There are 522 active and 2,259 recovered cases at long-term care facilities and supportive/home living sites.
- To date, 314 of the 500 reported deaths (63 per cent) have been in long-term care facilities or supportive/home living sites.
In the last 24 hours, there were nine additional COVID-related deaths reported: one on Nov. 7, two on Nov. 21, two on Nov. 22, three on Nov. 23, and one on Nov. 24.
The total number of COVID-19 related deaths is now 500.
Alberta is reporting case numbers and information daily, including on weekends and holidays.

New acute care measures for visitors

Effective Nov. 25, Alberta Health Services (AHS) is introducing temporary measures for visitor access to AHS acute care sites that have an outbreak or are in communities where COVID-19 transmission is high (watch or enhanced status).
- For hospital patients, one designated family/support person under specific circumstances.
- For maternity and postpartum units, one designated family/support person. In addition, a doula or surrogate may be permitted.
- For pediatrics and NICU, including critical care, up to two designated family/support persons.
- For end-of-life, one designated family/support person; other visitors must be pre-arranged with the site or unit.
- For ambulatory care including emergency, one designated family/support person where possible.
Restrictions may vary site-to-site. Albertans should review visitation guidelines and, where possible, arrange a phone call or virtual visit instead.

Strong restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19

New public health measures are being implemented across Alberta. These include mandatory provincewide measures and those targeted at regions under enhanced status.
These new restrictions and increased enforcement will reduce the spread of COVID-19 in communities, protect hospitals, keep schools and businesses open as much as possible, and better protect vulnerable Albertans.
Not following mandatory restrictions could result in fines of $1,000 per ticketed offence and up to $100,000 through the courts.
All existing guidance and legal orders remain in place in all areas.
Alberta Health, AHS and local municipalities continue to closely monitor the spread across the province.

Changes to contact tracing

With the significant increase in new cases and demand, the AHS 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.
All Albertans who test positive for COVID-19 will 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.

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.
As of Nov. 23, 274,649 Albertans were using the ABTraceTogether app, 66 per cent on iOS and 34 per cent on Android. On average, 20 new users were 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.

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.
As of Nov. 23, 445,487 Albertans have MHR accounts.

Access to justice

For the latest updates on court operations, please visit:

Alberta’s Recovery Plan

Alberta’s Recovery Plan will create jobs, economic diversification and a strong economic future.

Addiction and mental health supports

Confidential supports are available. The Mental Health Help Line at 1-877-303-2642 and the Addiction Help Line at 1-866-332-2322 operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Resources are also available online.
The Kids Help Phone is available 24-7 and offers professional counselling, information and referrals and volunteer-led, text-based support to young people by texting CONNECT to 686868.
Online resources provide advice on handling stressful situations and ways to talk with children.

Family violence prevention

A 24-hour Family Violence Information Line at 310-1818 provides anonymous help in more than 170 languages.
Alberta’s One Line for Sexual Violence is available at 1-866-403-8000, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
People fleeing family violence can call local police or the nearest RCMP detachment to apply for an Emergency Protection Order, or follow the steps in the Emergency Protection Orders Telephone Applications (COVID-19).
Information sheets and other resources on family violence prevention are at alberta.ca/COVID19.

Quick facts

Legally, all Albertans must physically distance and isolate when sick or with symptoms.
Good hygiene is your best protection: wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds, avoid touching your face, cough or sneeze into an elbow or sleeve, and dispose of tissues appropriately.
Please share acts of kindness during this difficult time at #AlbertaCares.
Alberta Connects Contact Centre (310-4455) is open Monday to Friday, 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Related information

Multimedia

Media inquiries
Tom McMillan
780-422-4905

Assistant Director of Communications, Health

NT4