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

By David Opinko

AHS reports first COVID-19 death in Fort Macleod

Jul 23, 2020 | 3:48 PM

FORT MACLEOD, AB – The Government of Alberta has released Thursday’s report on COVID-19, detailing the numbers over the past 24 hours.

114 cases were confirmed across Alberta, bringing the total to 9,975. Of those, 1,293 cases are still active while 8,506 people have recovered.

A man, aged 70-79 in Fort Macleod, has died as a result of the virus. This is the first death in the community.

There was also another death in the Edmonton zone today, meaning it has claimed the lives of 176 Albertans to date.

106 people in the province are hospitalized with COVID-19 and 21 have been admitted to intensive care units (ICU).

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Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw says she is “very concerned” by these numbers.

“Recently, our active cases have risen sharply. On July 9, we had 590 active cases, today, we have nearly 1,300. Two weeks ago, we had seven Albertans in the ICU – now, we have triple that number.”

She believes that many Albertans have simply “grown tired” of the pandemic or think that if they have not contracted it yet, they will not.

Dr. Hinshaw warns that this is not the case, even for younger, healthy adults. COVID-19 impacts people of all ages.

“One out of 50 diagnosed cases between the ages of 30 and 39 has needed to be admitted to hospital. Between the ages of 40 and 69, that risk is greater – one out of 20 diagnosed cases has required hospitalization. One out of every 10 diagnosed cases between the ages of 70 and 79 has died.”

She also addressed those who think it would be better to infect everyone to create herd immunity. She said we do not yet know if contracting the virus once makes us fully immune, so this is probably not the best strategy.

Her advice continues to be the same: keep a physical distance of two metres from others and wear a mask at times where you cannot, practice proper hygiene, and stay home if you are sick.

614,692 tests have been administered in Alberta.

The regional breakdown for COVID-19 in Alberta is a follows:

• Calgary zone – 6,187 cases, 666 active
  • 115 deaths
  • 215,639 tests
• South zone – 1,554 cases, 134 active
  • 14 deaths (one new)
  • 37,264 tests
• Edmonton zone – 1,451 cases, 232 active
  • 29 deaths (one new)
  • 171,179 tests
• North zone – 475 cases, 92 active
  • 17 deaths
  • 42,298 tests
• Central zone – 282 cases, 161 active
  • One death
  • 39.276 tests

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

• Brooks – 1,121 cases, three active, nine deaths
• Lethbridge – 91 cases (three new), 37 active
  • West Lethbridge – 42 cases (one new), 17 active
  • South Lethbridge – 26 cases, 10 active
  • North Lethbridge – 23 cases (two new), 10 active
• Cardston County – 67 cases (one new), 18 active, two deaths
• Medicine Hat – 58 cases, eight active, one death
• County of Warner – 52 cases (two new), six active, one death
• Cypress County – 30 cases, zero active
• Fort Macleod – 28 cases, 12 active, one death (one new)
• M.D. of Taber – 27 cases, 14 active
• County of Newell – 22 cases, two active
• Lethbridge County – 23 cases (two new), 12 active
• M.D. of Pincher Creek – 17 cases (one new), 12 active
• County of Forty Mile – Nine cases, three active
• Crowsnest Pass – One case, one active