The City of Grande Prairie is now under a COVID-19 watch after a jump in cases over the long weekend. 17 new cases of the virus were reported between Friday and Monday, for a total of 41 active cases in the municipality.
A provincial watch is declared when the rate of active cases per 100,000 people in a municipality is above 50. The current rate is 55.6 in the City of Grande Prairie.
An outbreak status has been declared at the Walmart Supercentre in Grande Prairie. Alberta Health says there have been 10 cases confirmed at that location, of which nine are considered active and one recovered. An outbreak status is declared over a location when two or more confirmed cases of COVID-19 can be traced back to it.
Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw says most of the new cases in the city are linked to that outbreak. She adds people need to be mindful of provincial public health recommendations, but doesn’t believe more measures are needed in the city.
“We all need to be following the measures that are in place across the province. At this time there is no indication that there [are] any additional measures that are needed in Grande Prairie, but again, just a reminder that we do need to work collectively,” she says.
“It doesn’t seem at this time like there’s any really significant community risk that goes across the whole community.”
In a Facebook post, Grande Prairie Mayor Bill Given said the jump in cases is not a cause for alarm, though is a disappointing development.
“Up to this point we have all taken a lot of pride in how our region has handled the pandemic,” he said. “I hope that this turn will act as a reminder to all of us that we can control how Covid impacts our community.”
The County of Grande Prairie saw only one new case over the long weekend, as well as two recoveries. As of October 12, the County had five active cases of COVID-19 and 62 recoveries.