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

By David Opinko

COVID cases in Alberta surpass 6,000 with few new infections Thursday

May 7, 2020 | 4:30 PM

EDMONTON, AB – The Government of Alberta has released its latest update on COVID-19 in the province.

Only 54 new cases were confirmed Thursday, bringing the provincial total to 6,017.

With the daily numbers declining lately and Alberta gearing up to reopen parts of its economy, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw says she has heard from religious communities about when they can resume regular in-person services.

At this time, she is not ready to lift restrictions on mass gatherings that prohibit more than 15 people from meeting.

Dr. Hinshaw talked about a congregation in Alberta, prior to COVID-19 restrictions being enacted, that held a worship service and a celebratory social event.

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She recalled a conversation with one of the church leaders, who claimed that they took all necessary health and safety precautions.

“No one was ill at the time. They followed all the rules and did nothing wrong. Unfortunately, within a week of the event, one person who had been there tested positive for COVID-19. Many others followed. In total, 24 of the 41 people who attended were confirmed to be cases, three of those people ended up in hospital, and two of them died.

“It wasn’t clear what the source of the virus was for the people of the gathering that day. It could have been environmental contamination from others who had previously been in the building, it could have been that someone who had attended had been exposed elsewhere was unknowingly affected and able to pass the virus on to others before their symptoms started.”

To return to the daily update on the numbers, an additional two deaths were announced – one in Brooks and one in the Calgary Health Zone – meaning 114 Albertans have lost their lives as a result of the virus.

174,327 people have been tested for COVID-19 and 3,809 patients have fully recovered.

The breakdown by regional health zone is as follows:

• Calgary zone – 4,044 cases, 80 deaths (one new)
  • 74,076 tests
• South zone – 1,124 cases, six deaths (one new)
  • 13,354 tests
• Edmonton zone – 505 cases, 12 deaths
  • 46,965 tests
• North zone – 226 cases, 15 deaths
  • 12,668 tests
• Central zone – 94 cases, one death
  • 13,365 tests

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

• Brooks – 1,032 cases (12 new), 432 recovered, five deaths (one new)
• Medicine Hat – 33 cases, 25 recovered
• Lethbridge – 18 cases, 12 recovered
  • South Lethbridge – nine cases, five recovered
  • West Lethbridge – seven cases, seven recovered
  • North Lethbridge – two cases
• County of Newell – 11 cases, five recovered
• Cypress County – 10 cases (one new), seven recovered
• Cardston County – six cases
• Fort Macleod – two cases
• County of Forty Mile – two cases, two recovered
• M.D. of Taber – two cases, two recovered
• Lethbridge County – one case, one recovered