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Albertans need to start preparing for a non-traditional Christmas with smaller gatherings, says the province’s chief medical health officer.
“With the calendar moving into December today, I know that many people across the province are starting to plan for the holiday season,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw said at a news conference Tuesday. “It has been a long and difficult year, and I know how important these holidays are for the Albertans. But in a year that is anything but typical, the way we celebrate will not be typical either.”
The province reported another 10 deaths from COVID-19 on Tuesday and 1,307 new cases of the disease.
The total number of active cases was 16,628, an increase of 174 from the day before.
“We still don’t know exactly what restrictions will be in place during the last week of December,” Hinshaw said. “The cabinet will make those decisions at the end of this month.
‘Celebrate safely’
Previous holidays have already led to an increase in cases and outbreaks, he said, using Thanksgiving gatherings as an example of accelerated spread.
“Right now, I’m encouraging the Albertans to start preparing for a very different holiday season and start thinking about creative ways to celebrate safely,” said Hinshaw.
“This won’t be the year of in-person office parties. It won’t be the year of open houses or big dinners with friends and extended family. If you’re planning your holidays, it’s best to assume you will continue to limit as much as possible. contact with anyone outside of your family is possible, and that any large reunion will likely need to be virtual.
“This will be the year to get together remotely or do small outdoor activities where everyone can keep their distance. Celebrating virtually, or with family members, represents the lowest risk of spread.”
Hinshaw said the options people may have for the next vacation will depend on what everyone is doing in the next few days.
“The actions we take now and in the coming weeks will determine how the virus spreads when the holidays come,” he said. “We all have the power to collectively bend the curve, and it will take everyone to do it.”
Here is the regional breakdown of the active cases of the province:
- Edmonton area with 7,552 cases.
- Calgary area with 6,162 cases.
- Central area with 1,249 cases.
- Northern area with 895 cases.
- South zone with 672 cases.
- 98 unknown cases.
The turnaround in the calendar has brought to an end the worst month of the pandemic in Alberta so far.
As of November 1, there were 6,002 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
At the end of the day on November 30, the total was 2.7 times higher, with 16,628 cases.
On November 1, the province added 610 new cases.
On November 30, that number was 2.14 times higher, with 1,307 new cases added.
On November 1, Alberta hospitals were treating 143 patients for the disease, including 28 in intensive care beds.
Since then, hospitalizations have more than tripled. On 30 November, a total of 479 patients were in hospital, including 97 in ICU beds.
As of November 1, 327 people in Alberta had died from COVID-19. By November 30, another 224 lives had been added to the balance, bringing the total to 551.
The 10 people whose deaths were reported on Tuesday were:
- Two men in their 90s and one in their eighties are linked to the outbreak at the Edmonton Chinatown Care Center.
- A man in his 90s linked to the St. Thomas Health Center outbreak in the Edmonton area.
- A woman in her seventies linked to the Kainai Continuing Care Center epidemic in the south area.
- A man in his 90s linked to the Capital Care Lynnwood outbreak in the Edmonton area.
- A woman in her 70s is linked to the outbreak of the Gray Nuns Community Hospital in the Edmonton area.
- Two men in their 70s are linked to the Clifton Manor outbreak in the Calgary area.
- An 80-year-old woman in the Edmonton area.
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