Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw. (Government of Alberta)

By David Opinko

216 new COVID-19 infections announced in Alberta, including 45 more in South Zone

Apr 27, 2020 | 4:03 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Government of Alberta has provided its latest update on COVID-19 infections in the province Monday.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw has confirmed 216 new cases provincially, bringing the total to 4,696.

Another two people in the Calgary zone have died as a result of the virus, meaning it has now claimed the lives of 75 Albertans.

87 patients are currently in the hospital, 20 of which have been admitted to intensive care units. 1,664 have seen full recoveries.

Dr. Hinshaw continues to be concerned about outbreaks in continuing care centres. Between residents and staff, they make up 458 of the total COVID caseload.

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In instances where outbreaks have been declared at continuing care centres, everyone, even if they are not showing symptoms, will be tested.

Four people in the Calgary Health Zone who are homeless have tested positive for the virus. They are the first in the province’s homeless population to do so.

Over the weekend, the number of cases in the South Health Zone surpassed the Edmonton Health Zone, but the region is still far away from the Calgary Health Zone’s total.

Dr. Hinshaw says she understands that people are concerned and frustrated that many summer events have been cancelled. This follows her remarks last week that mass gathering restrictions apply to all summer events and festivals.

“No decision has been made on when we will be able to relax this limit on gatherings, but it is something we’ll continue to monitor as we see the results of our collective efforts to prevent the spread paying off.”

“We’ve seen in Alberta that gatherings of even a small group can cause the virus to spread to many others, so it’s critical we don’t rush this decision and undo a lot of the progress we’ve seen over the past weeks.”

Among the major Albertan events that were cancelled as a direct result of mass gathering restrictions include Lethbridge’s Whoop-Up Days, the Calgary Stampede, and Edmonton’s K-Days.

Dr. Hinshaw says those who are not sick are still welcome to enjoy the outdoors “with a small number of friends, as long as you stay at least two meters away from each other and you do not share a drink.”

The breakdown by regional health zone is as follows:

• Calgary zone – 3,257 cases, 48 deaths (two new)
  • 57,617 tests
• South zone – 643 cases, two deaths
  • 7,458 tests
• Edmonton zone – 484 cases, 10 deaths
  • 39,626 tests
• North zone – 196 cases, 14 deaths
  • 10,301 tests
• Central zone – 84 cases, one death
  • 11,248 tests

The breakdown for the South Health Zone by community is as follows:

• Brooks – 581 cases (35 new), 11 recovered, two deaths
• Medicine Hat – 27 cases (two new), 11 recovered
• Lethbridge – 13 cases (one new), eight recovered
  • West Lethbridge – seven cases, five recovered
  • South Lethbridge – six cases (one new), three recovered
• Cypress County – eight cases, five recovered
• County of Newell – five cases
• M.D. of Taber – two cases, two recovered
• County of Fort Mile – two cases, two recovered
• Lethbridge County – one case, one recovered