20 more COVID-19 related deaths have been reported in Alberta over the last 24 hours. The number is double the previous highest single-day count of 10, which was recorded on November 12th. 427 people have now died as a result of COVID-19 in the province since the pandemic began.
The City of Grande Prairie saw 26 new cases of COVID-19 reported as of November 15th, as well as 18 recoveries. The new total in the municipality now is 92 active cases of the virus.
The County of Grande Prairie, meanwhile, saw 18 new cases of the virus reported and four recoveries, for a new total of 34 active cases in the region.
Provincially, 860 new cases were reported by Alberta Health Services on Monday, from just over 12,000 tests. 264 people in Alberta remain in hospital as a result of COVID-19, 57 of them requiring the Intensive Care Unit.
Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw says the provincial positivity rate is now approximately seven per cent, and there are 10,031 active cases province-wide.
Hinshaw adds in regards to the current acute care burden, as well as how it compares to influenza numbers, COVID-19 is much more dangerous of a virus.
“We have had 49 acute care COVID-19 outbreaks in just seven-and-a-half months, with 42 deaths linked to these outbreaks,” she says. “This is far worse than the worst acute care numbers related to influenza in the past five years.”
Hinshaw refers to 40 outbreaks and 13 deaths over the course of a full year being the aforementioned influenza metric.
“COVID-19 is more dangerous than influenza at both an individual and population level,” she says.
She adds much more aggressive isolation policies in hospitals that are required to enhance safety in hospitals are brought in exchange for capacity. Any patient who has symptoms that could be COVID-19, patients confirmed to have COVID-19, or those who have had a COVID-19 exposure must be isolated.
