(Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Examining the rising trend in COVID-19 cases in Lethbridge

Feb 18, 2021 | 1:46 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Recently, Lethbridge has become the South Zone’s hotspot for COVID-19 cases.

LNN looked back at the last five weeks of COVID reports, and, like several readers who have reached out to us, we have noticed an upwards trend in the city.

As shown below, the number of new cases has grown at an increasingly fast pace while active infections continued to grow as well.

• January 20
  • 1,598 cases
  • 137 active
• January 27
  • 1,655 cases (+57)
  • 118 active (-19)
• February 3
  • 1,744 cases (+89)
  • 142 active (+24)
• February 10
  • 1,843 cases (+99)
  • 189 active (+47)
• February 17
  • 1,956 cases (+113)
  • 211 active (+22)
    COVID-19 cases in Lethbridge. (Data from AHS, compiled by LNN)

A statement from Alberta Health Services (AHS) to LNN states that the increase in cases is not linked to any one factor.

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“Rather, it reflects a large number of factors, including a number of recent outbreaks.”

There are currently four active outbreaks of COVID-19 in the city:

• The View at Lethbridge: 90 cases
  • 15 active
  • 70 recovered
  • Five deaths
• Haul All Equipment: 10 cases
  • One active
  • Nine recovered
• Lethbridge Alpha House: 72 cases
  • 10 active
  • 61 recovered
  • One death
• Streets Alive Mission Lethbridge: Eight cases
  • All recovered

The statement explains that the virus spreads by close contacts. For all of these facilities with active outbreaks, employees and/or clients are often in close proximity to one another despite the steps taken to mitigate that.

While AHS was not able to detail what many of the other factors for local recent spread are, they reiterated the importance of following public health measures such as physical distancing, mask-wearing, and proper hygiene.

Elsewhere in the South Zone, the COVID-19 situation is a bit different.

With Lethbridge being the largest community in the South Zone, what happens in the city does affect the regional trend. However, from a regional perspective, the trend in cases is more consistent.

This is because many other communities in the South Zone saw little-to-no growth in cases over the past five weeks.

• January 20
  • 5,591 cases
  • 411 active
• January 27
  • 5,751 cases (+160)
  • 355 active (-56)
• February 3
  • 5,906 cases (+155)
  • 290 active (-65)
• February 10
  • 6,078 cases (+172)
  • 326 active (+36)
• February 17
  • 6,250 cases (+172)
  • 338 active (+12)
    COVID-19 cases in South Zone. (Data from AHS, compiled by LNN)

“It’s been a long pandemic, but COVID-19 is still here and cases can rise again if we’re not careful. That’s why we all need to keep focused on following the measures in place and trying to limit in-person interactions whenever we can,” reads a portion of the statement from AHS.

“The simple actions that each of us take each day are incredibly important. What we do matters. We all need to keep following the rules, staying home and getting tested if you feel even a little ill, and keeping physically distanced whenever possible.”

Province-wide, cases have been falling over the past two months, as shown in the graph below.

COVID-19 trends in Alberta since the start of the pandemic. (Alberta Health Services)

AHS concludes by saying that, if Albertans come together, these numbers will keep decreasing and COVID-19 restrictions will continue to be eased.