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On a day when Alberta reported 18,243 active cases of COVID-19 and 15 additional deaths, the province also reported a record-high positive test rate.
The positivity rate has risen to 10.5 percent, a “tragic milestone and one that should interest us all,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta Health Director of Health, said at a press conference on Friday.
With nearly 17,200 people tested and one in 10 tested positive, the total number of new cases in Alberta reached 1,828.
To date 590 people have died in Alberta. As of Friday, there were a record 533 people in hospital, including 99 in intensive care.
“We are going in the first weekend of December,” Hinshaw said. “In a difficult year, I know this last month may be the hardest for many. This virus can spread rapidly from one to many.
“In a month usually characterized by holiday rallies, we feel the restrictions more acutely. But I want to stress the severity of the increase in the number of cases we are seeing and how crucial it is to reduce the spread and bend the curve down again. “
Here is how the active cases are divided between the regions:
- Edmonton area: 8,578 cases
- Calgary area: 6,666 cases
- Central area: 1,251 cases
- Northern area: 1,012 cases
- South zone: 630 cases
- Unknown: 106 cases
7 dead in a nursing home in Edmonton’s Chinatown
The 15 deaths reported on Friday included seven people linked to an outbreak at the Edmonton Chinatown Care Center: four 90-year-old men, a 90-year-old woman, an 80-year-old man and a 100-year-old man.
Other deaths reported on Friday:
- A woman in her seventies linked to the Clifton Manor outbreak in Calgary.
- An 80-year-old man linked to the Lynnwood Capital Care outbreak in Edmonton.
- A man in his seventies from the Edmonton area.
- Two men in their 60s from the Edmonton area.
- A man in his fifties from the Edmonton area.
- A woman in her seventies from the central area.
- A woman in her nineties from the Calgary area.
Contact the tracking for help
Dr. Verna Yiu, president and CEO of Alberta Health Services, told the press conference that AHS is working to strengthen its troubled contact-tracking system.
“As the number of cases has increased exponentially in the past six weeks, it has become increasingly difficult for our teams to keep up with the demand,” Yiu said.
“We are rapidly increasing our response to the unprecedented volume of COVID-19 cases in the province.”
WATCH | Alberta to increase contact tracing efforts:
A desperate shortage of COVID-19 contact detectors is one of the staff challenges plaguing Alberta, says Dr. Verna Yiu, president and CEO of AHS. 1:29
The province has more than 900 contact detectors in Alberta and is on track to double that number by the end of the year, Yiu said.
“This means that we will have 36 contact detectors for every 100,000 people, which will be on par or better than other provinces.”
Bend the curve
The Albertans are now a week away from the latest round of restrictions aimed at bending the curve of COVID-19 cases in the province.
On Friday, Premier Jason Kenney ordered the closure of middle and high schools, banned indoor social gatherings and limited capacity for businesses.
Albertans will find out next week what impact these measures are having on the virus, which is spreading faster in Alberta than anywhere else in the country.
It was the second set of restrictions issued by the premier in November.
Three weeks ago, Kenney suspended indoor group fitness programs, team sports and group performance activities, and reduced the opening hours of restaurants, bars and pubs in cities.
But the curve didn’t bend and the virus has continued to grow ever since, setting records almost every day as it tightens its grip on the province.
The province’s contact location system is struggling with demand. The Alberta government continues to resist calls to adopt the federal contact notification app or order a provincial-level mask law.
It is also continuing to reject calls from doctors for a two-week block, or “circuit breaker,” to eliminate the actual play number and allow contact tracing.
WATCH | Alberta requires field hospitals from Ottawa:
The Alberta government is in talks with Ottawa and the Canadian Red Cross to ask for help in setting up field hospitals as the number of COVID-19 patients continues to rise. 2:42
This week, the province acknowledged that it is preparing for the worst. Alberta has asked the federal government for two field hospitals and the Red Cross for two more.
Alberta hospitals are preparing to double critically ill patients, renovate operating and recovery rooms, and reassign staff to treat an anticipated increase in COVID-19 patients destined for intensive care units.
AHS has asked Calgary hospitals to begin rationing oxygen.
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