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COVID-19 cases in St. Albert nearly triple in one week

When asked about St. Albert's case numbers, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said gatherings over Thanksgiving have had an impact across the province.
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CHRIS COLBOURNE/St. Albert Gazette

COVID-19 cases in St. Albert have almost tripled in the last week.

On Wednesday, Oct. 14, there were 28 people with active cases of COVID-19 in the city. One week later on Wednesday, Oct. 21, the province’s geospatial COVID-19 case map showed there were 76 active cases in St. Albert. As of Thursday, that rose to 88 cases.

This is the highest number of active cases the city has seen so far, eight months into the pandemic.

Overall, there have been 220 cases recorded in St. Albert since the beginning of the pandemic, and 130 of those people have recovered. Two people have died in St. Albert due to COVID-19 since the pandemic started. 

In a social media post, Mayor Cathy Heron said the increase of positive cases in St. Albert was not unexpected, but still unnerving. 

"Let's flatten the curve. We need to do this without a shut down, which means we need to be extra vigilant with our personal health measures, staying home with any symptoms, cooperate with contact tracers and probably a good idea to get a flu shot," Heron wrote. 

 

St. Albert was put under provincial watch on Oct. 19, when positive cases in the city rose above the provincial threshold of 50 cases per 100,000 people. This means residents are asked to follow enhanced measures to reduce transmission. 

This includes keeping family and social gatherings small, with no more than 15 people. Limit cohorts to three groups, including your core household, your school, and one other social or sports group. Wear a mask in all indoor work settings, except when you’re working alone in a workspace, like an office cubicle, where you can stay distant from others.   

When asked about St. Albert's case numbers, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said gatherings over Thanksgiving have had an impact across the province. 

The sudden increase in case numbers could be a result of secondary spread from people who caught the virus over Thanksgiving weekend, Hinshaw said. It can take up to two weeks for COVID-19 symptoms to appear. 

"We're starting to see numbers where people who acquired it at Thanksgiving perhaps passed it on to others, maybe before knowing they were infectious," Hinshaw said.

"The combined impact of those two things has unfortunately accelerated our growth in some areas where we went into Thanksgiving with higher rates than would have been ideal."

On Thursday, the province reported 427 new cases for a total of 3,519 active cases of COVID-19. There are now 1,718 active cases in the Edmonton zone. To deal with rising case numbers, AHS is activating surge capacity measures in the Edmonton zone, postponing non-urgent surgeries and some outpatient services. 

Cases in schools

The increase in active cases of COVID-19 in the city comes at a time when more local schools are reporting outbreaks of the virus.  

According to AHS, an outbreak is declared when two positive cases are identified within 14 days. Watch status is declared when there are five or more positive active cases.

There are 15 active and inactive cases of COVID-19 at Elmer S. Gish School. The school is under watch designation. The Gazette was told some 125 students and 17 staffers– roughly 16 per cent of the school’s population – were isolating at home as of Oct. 14. Since then, all classes have returned except for two. Approximately 50 students and eight staff members are still isolating at home as of Oct. 23.  More classes and staff are scheduled to return next week. 

Bellerose High School was notified of two active cases this week. In total, four positive COVID-19 cases have been identified at the school. The school’s status is classified as an outbreak. Eighty-four people are now in isolation. 

Sir George Simpson Junior High School had two people test positive for the virus this week. The second case was confirmed on Oct. 22.

Two or more people tested positive for COVID-19 at the St. Albert Catholic High School on Oct. 18. The school’s status is classified as an outbreak.

A second positive case was confirmed at William D. Cuts Junior High School on Oct. 21. One class cohort of students is isolating. 

Outbreak at senior home 

AHS is reporting an outbreak of COVID-19 at the St. Albert Retirement Residence in Erin Ridge North.

The senior home is now working closely with AHS officials and all families have been notified of the outbreak, according to a spokesperson with the company that operates the home. 

"We've been working with Alberta Health Services to make sure that everything is being done," said Bruce Lillie, regional marketing director for All Seniors Care Living Centres. "We're doing everything we can to ensure that we safeguard each other and that everybody follows the protocols in place." 

Enhanced sanitization and cleaning practices are still in place, and seniors at the home are isolating in their suites, he said. Building access in the 180-suite home is restricted to essential visitors only, but families can still connect with loved ones through FaceTime. 

The Gazette will have more details of this outbreak tomorrow.

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