Covid-19 virus -- Alberta Health Service

By Dori Modney with files from The Canadian Press

Alberta announces 2 more presumptive COVID-19 cases

Mar 8, 2020 | 10:35 AM

EDMONTON, AB. — Two new presumptive cases of the novel coronavirus have been announced in the province.

At a news conference in Edmonton Sunday (Mar 8) morning, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the chief medical officer of health, relayed details about the province’s three presumptive cases and one confirmed case of COVID-19.

The first case, which has been confirmed, was announced Thursday for a woman in Calgary. She worked in close contact with co-workers at two Alberta Treasury Branches, which prompted ATB to temporarily shut down two of its branches in Calgary where she often works.

The second case involves a man in his 40’s, who lives in the Edmonton area. The man was recently in Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio for a business trip and returned to Alberta on February 28. He is in isolation at his home. It is now known that the man had a traveling companion, who had previously been a passenger on the Grand Princess Cruise Ship. The travelling companion is now a confirmed case and is in isolation in his home in B.C.

The third case is presumptive and involves a 60-year old man from the Edmonton Zone, who had been a passenger on the Grand Princess Cruise before returning to Alberta.

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The fourth case is presumptive and involves a 30-year old woman from Calgary who had previously been in close contact with an Albertan who had recently travelled to Ukraine, Turkey ad the Netherlands.

Dr. Hinshaw noted that three of the current case have a direct link to the Princess Cruise Ship and it’s known that 44 Albertans were on the Princess Cruise. In a proactive measure, post of these individuals have been tracked down and tested.

Hinshaw underscores that Albertans are at low risk of contracting COVID-19, at this time, and there is no need for “panic buying” of household items.

At least 58 people in Canada have COVID-19, with 27 confirmed cases in B.C., 28 in Ontario, two in Quebec and one in Alberta.

Meanwhile, 237 Canadians are on board a cruise ship that was hit by the virus and is headed to the port of Oakland, Calif.

Two passengers and 19 crew members, whose nationalities have not yet been disclosed, have tested positive for COVID-19 on the ship.

In a ship-board address Saturday night, Grand Princess Capt. John Smith said the vessel would likely dock Sunday afternoon and that people needing “acute medical treatment” would be taken to health-care facilities in California.

Smith said other guests would be taken to federally operated isolation sites or transported out of California, however, he noted that he had been not given any specific information about non-U.S. citizens.

The ship, with more than 3,500 people aboard, and has been idling off the coast of San Francisco for the several days now waiting for clearance to dock.

In light of the situation aboard the Grand Princess and other cruise ships recently plagued by COVID-19 outbreaks, Canadian health officials are now advising people to avoid cruise ship travel.

In British Columbia, officials declared an outbreak of the novel coronavirus at a North Vancouver long-term care home on Saturday, saying two elderly residents were recently diagnosed with the virus along with four others in the province.

Chief provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said the two cases followed an earlier diagnosis of a care worker at the Lynn Valley Care Centre, making them especially concerning as examples of community transmission.

The care home is now following an outbreak protocol that restricts visitors and imposes “infection control precautions” on all staff interactions at the facility.

A growing list of events are being cancelled in Canada and around the world in anticipation of fewer people travelling to and from infected areas.

The women’s world hockey championship slated to begin this month in Halifax and Truro, N.S., the 2020 Arctic Winter Games in Whitehorse, and the South by Southwest Conference and Festival in Austin, Texas, have all been cancelled to prevent the spread of the virus.