Above is the April 23 press briefing from the Chief Medical Officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw, scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
by Morinville News Staff
Another day of extensive COVID-19 tests took place in the past 24-hour reporting period. Alberta reported another 319 on Thursday, bringing the total provincial cases to date to 3720. Of that number, 1357 Albertans have recovered, and 68 have died, two of those deaths in the last 24 hours.
Recoveries now account for 37.4% of the total cases, and deaths are 1.8% of that total cases to date.
Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health said that as of Thursday, 390 cases were in continuing care facilities, where 44 of the province’s death have been. Hinshaw also said 480 of the province’s cases are connected to the Cargill meat processing facility, and 124 are connected to JBS foods employees and contractors.
In the past 24 hours, 4336 tests were conducted, an increase of 185 tests above the previous day’s 4151 tests. To date, Alberta has conducted 117,835 tests in total.
Mass gatherings and social distancing
Hinshaw confirmed Thursday that gathering restrictions currently in place also apply to all one-time or annual summer events, including arts and culture festivals, agricultural fairs and rodeos, major sporting championships and industry conferences.
“Mass gatherings are a significant source of concern,” Hinshaw said, adding people want to be outside, and the summer is a time where festivals are enjoyed by many Albertans. “We need to remember a single case of COVID-19 can spread like wildfire in a mass gathering.”
Hinshaw said some event planners had taken it upon themselves to cancel upcoming events, and the clarification offered Thursday would allow organizers to cancel planned contracts in a timely manner.
Dr. Hinshaw did not give a timeline for when restrictions might be eased on mass gatherings and social distancing.
STURGEON COUNTY & ST. ALBERT CASES
Sturgeon County has two active cases, and nine have recoveries. St. Albert has three active cases and 24 who have recovered. No deaths have occurred in St. Albert or Sturgeon County as a result of COVID-19. Those numbers remain unchanged from Wednesday.
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.
Thankyou Morinville news for the daily updates.