Above is the April 20 press briefing from the Chief Medical Officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw, scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
by Morinville News Staff
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in Alberta as the province continues what it calls aggressive testing for the illness. Alberta tested 3718 Albertans in the past 24 hours and 105,317 tests have been done to date. COVID-19 cases increased by 406 on Saturday and Sunday, and Monday saw another 105 added, bringing the provincial total to 2908.
Of that number, 1250 Albertans (42.9%) have been identified as having recovered, and to date, 59 Albertans (2%) have died. Of that death count, four were reported in the past 24 hours, two at long-term care facilities, one a worker at the Cargill meat processing plant and one in the Edmonton zone.
Total cases include those who have recovered and those who have died from the illness.
Alberta currently has 63 people in hospital with COVID-19, 15 of whom have been admitted to intensive care units (ICU). A total of 559 cases are suspected of being community-acquired.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro said during Monday’s briefing that 34 of the province’s 59 deaths have been Albertans in long-term care facilities.
Shandro announced new measures to assist. The province will provide $24.5 million in funding to operators of facilities to help with cost pressures. The province is also announcing a wage supplement of $2 per hour for health care aides, and fast-tracking students through paid practicums, a move that they believe will add 1000 placements to assist in long-term care facilities.
STURGEON COUNTY CASES
There has been no change in County numbers. Sturgeon County has one active case, now that nine have recovered. St. Albert has three active cases and 24 who have recovered. That is an increase of one from the weekend update. No deaths have occurred in St. Albert or Sturgeon County as a result of COVID-19.
Up-to-the-minute information on COVID-19 in Alberta is available at https://www.alberta.ca/coronavirus-info-for-albertans.aspx?.
Local information on Morinville’s handling of the pandemic is online at http://morinville.ca/covid19.
Please note: Morinville News is not able to provide details on the number of cases in specific municipalities as AHS is not providing that information unless it occurs in a particular facility. We are also not able to provide details on how individual cases in Sturgeon County or St. Albert are doing as AHS does not provide those details due to patient privacy.
