Another 138 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been recorded across Alberta, as well as the deaths of two residents of continuing care facilities in Edmonton and Calgary. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw offers her condolences to those who have lost loved ones.
“While we can start to become numb to these numbers as time goes on, each one of these individuals had a life that mattered and people who loved them, and it is in order to prevent further losses that we are focusing measures on these high-risk areas.
Of the province’s 48 deaths, 30 have been in continuing care centres, including 21 at McKenzie Towne in Calgary. There are now 1,870 confirmed cases in Alberta, of which 914 are considered to be recovered, an increase of 37 over yesterday.
“While we are seeing a steady rise in recovered cases in the province, we should also expect to see a rise of cases in the coming days as a result of expanded testing,” explains Dr. Hinshaw. “We have completed 2,868 COVID tests in the last 24 hours.”
In the North zone, two additional cases have been confirmed for a total of 107 out of 6,498 tests done. There have been no changes to cases in the City and County of Grande Prairie.
On Tuesday, Minister of Health Tyler Shandro announced the province is providing $3 million to Caregivers Alberta. He says the goal is to expand support programs and resources for the almost one million Albertans who are caregivers for family and friends.
“Not only do these caregivers improve the lives of those they care for, they also have a tremendous impact on our health system. Estimates indicate the value of their time to be around $5.8 billion.”
Support is currently available through the toll-free caregiver advisor line at 1-877-453-5088 and online at caregiversalberta.ca for all caregivers, including those caring for someone with COVID-19 or in self-isolation.