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

By David Opinko

Province commends Blood Tribe’s COVID-19 mitigation efforts

Jun 12, 2020 | 3:51 PM

STANDOFF, AB – UPDATE: The Blood Tribe announced that one of their elders died their week due to complications with COVID-19.

Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health took some time out of Friday’s COVID-19 update to thank the Blood Tribe for doing what they can to mitigate the spread of the virus.

As soon as the first case was confirmed in Alberta, Dr. Deena Hinshaw says the First Nation in Southern Alberta got to work.

They established a 35-bed clinical isolation facility for community members who either had tested positive for COVID-19 or who were otherwise ill and needed to be separated from others.

Members of the Blood Tribe Administration have delivered 2,540 packages of food and cleaning supplies to residents.

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Testing, contact tracing, and care for locals have been a high priority throughout.

“Local leadership asked that Rick Soup, the Disaster and Emergency Manager for the Blood Tribe, be recognized for his support and leadership during these challenging times,” says Dr. Hinshaw.

As of today’s report, Cardston County, which includes the area of the Blood Tribe, has seen 32 cases to date. Of those, 12 are still active.

However, Soup later announced that an elder in the community died this week due to complications with COVID-19. No details were provided on the person’s identity.

This marks the first COVID-19 deaths in the western half of the South Health Zone, as all other to date have either been in or north of Brooks.

Blood Tribe Police Chief Kyle Melting Tallow says they are still in a State of Local Emergency and that measures such as the curfew are still in place. Nearly 500 warnings have been issued for non-compliance with the emergency bylaw.

Dr. Hinshaw mentioned in her update that, while the majority of COVID-19 related deaths in the province have been among seniors, there has been a noted increase in infections among younger Albertans.

“60 per cent of our currently active cases are under the age of 40 and we are seeing a particular increase in those between 20 and 29.”

“It is important for younger Albertans to remember that, while you may not be at risk for severe outcomes of infection, your actions are critical to protecting those around you who are at higher risk.”

Dr. Hinshaw spoke again about concerns regarding the recent anti-racism protests leading to a rise in COVID-19 cases.

She says many protesters have followed her advice to get tested after taking part in these events.

“To date, we have not identified cases where attendance at a protest was determined to be the source. Having said that, it is important to stay vigilant.”

It can take a few days for symptoms of the virus to start showing and testing can take another few days as well, so if there was any transmission from the protests, it might not be reflected in the current numbers yet.

Across Alberta today, there were 30 new cases, bringing the total to 7,346 to date. Of those, 386 cases are still active while 6,811 people have recovered.

With the reported death in Cardston County, 149 Albertans have lost their lives due to COVID-19.

The regional breakdown is as follows:

• Calgary zone – 5,049 cases, 202 active
  • 110 deaths
  • 38 in hospital, four in ICU
  • 136,604 tests
• South zone – 1,271 cases, 21 active
  • 10 deaths (one new)
  • One in hospital
  • 22,310 tests
• Edmonton zone – 677 cases, 149 active
  • 13 deaths
  • Nine in hospital, two in ICU
  • 81,781 tests
• North zone – 248 cases, 10 active
  • 16 deaths
  • Four in hospital
  • 22,752 tests
• Central zone – 87 cases, two active
  • One death
  • 23,089 tests

As for the breakdown for the South Health Zone, the province recently changed the way they display information on the geospatial map, which is how we get the information for this. Due to this change, some of the local numbers may be off from what we have previously reported.

• Brooks – 1,117 cases, one active, nine deaths
• Medicine Hat – 36 cases, one active
• Lethbridge – 33 cases, five active
  • South Lethbridge – 14 cases, two active
  • West Lethbridge – 13 cases, zero active
  • North Lethbridge – Six cases, three active
• Cardston County – 32 cases (two new), 12 active, one death (new)
• Cypress County – 21 cases, zero active
• County of Newell – 20 cases, one active
• Fort Macleod – Six cases, zero active
• M.D. of Taber – Two cases, zero active
• County of Forty Mile – Two cases, zero active
• Lethbridge County – One case, one active