Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health has confirmed that all large festivals and events in the province are as good as cancelled this summer.
“I want to clarify that the mass gathering restrictions currently in place also imply to all summer festivals and events in Alberta,” says Dr. Deena Hinshaw.
The comment comes in the wake of the announcement that both Edmonton’s K-Days and the Calgary Stampede have been cancelled for 2020.
Dr. Hinshaw says recent history shows that festivals and large gatherings, including a bonspiel in Edmonton which saw over 24 people test positive for the virus, hold the potential to be super-spreaders events, as one sick person can expose many others to the virus.
“This decision was not made lightly, but we must do everything we can to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”
Dr. Hinshaw says another 319 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Alberta on Thursday, pushing the provincial total to 3,720. Of the total number of confirmed cases, 1,357 cases are now considered recovered.
In the AHS North Zone, which includes the Grande Prairie region, seven new positive tests were confirmed on Thursday, which brings the total in northern Alberta to 157, with 14 deaths.
The County of Grande Prairie remains at four active cases, with one recovery, while the City of Grande Prairie has no current active cases of the virus, according to AHS data.