What you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Friday, Nov. 6

The latest:

• Alberta shattered another COVID-19 record Thursday, recording about 800 new cases.
• Detailed case numbers are expected to be released by the province Friday afternoon at a time still TBD and CBC News will bring you that news conference live. Theywere not available on Thursday due to technical problems with the province's reporting system.
• Cases are so high in Alberta that contact tracers will no longer notify people who have been found to be in close contact to an infected person, unless they are deemed to belinked to a "high-priority setting."

• AHS has created a webpage with email and phone scripts for those who have tested positive to use when notifying their own contacts.
• SiksikaFirst Nation east of Calgaryannounced that it will be closing its administration from Nov. 9 to 13 after upgrading its local risk levelto RED or high risk due to consistent new cases without aknown source.
• Meanwhile, the number of active cases in Alberta care homes has more than quadrupledfrom 102 to 418 in just one month.There are now 41 outbreaks in continuing care facilities around the province.
• COVID-19 outbreaks at ninemajor Alberta hospitals are putting pressure on a system that is already wrestling with a record number of novel coronaviruspatients.

What you need to know today in Alberta

Alberta shattered another COVID-19 record on Thursday, recording "about 800" new cases over the past 24 hours. A detailed breakdown ofthe numbers is expected to be releasedon Friday, after the province said that a technical issue preventedtheirrelease on Nov. 5.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's top doctor, said people may soon be faced withnew public health measures to get the numbers under control.

"We are looking closely at what steps we need to recommend to governmentto protect the health of Albertans,"Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health,said at a news conference. "But we need your help as well."

Meanwhile, Alberta's continuing care homes are bracing for another battle against COVID-19. The number of active cases in care homes has more than quadrupled, increasingfrom 102 to 418 cases, in just one month. There are now 41 outbreaks in continuing care facilities around the province.

"Dr. Hinshaw has been in communication with continuing care operators in Edmonton and Calgary recommending that they consider limiting visitors to the essential designated family/support people (and others in extenuating circumstances) while the transmission rates are high," said Alberta Health representative Tom McMillan in a statement to CBC.

"In the rest of the province, she advised operators to consider the transmission in the area where visitors are coming from and ensure that all necessary precautions are in place to limit the spread of COVID-19."

Hinshawstressed this week that COVID-19 is much more deadly than the seasonal flu. In the last four flu seasons, the peak deaths in a single year was 92. In just eight months, 343 people have died of COVID-19, despite what Hinshaw described as "extraordinary measures" to contain transmission.

"We are at a critical juncture in this pandemic. I know this has been a tiring year, and one that's taken a mental and physical toll on many. But we cannot give up. We must not give up. I believe one of the problems underlying pandemic fatigue is a sense of powerlessness, and for some, a loss of hope," she said.

There should be consequences for 'egregious' actions during pandemic: Hinshaw

4 years ago

Duration 1:21

Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw says that people who egregiously flout health orders during the pandemic should face consequences.

Alberta Health Services has created a webpage with phone and email scripts for those who have tested positive to use when notifying their own close contacts. The province has announced that it will no longer directly notify close contacts who are nothealth care workers, minors (whose parents will still be notified if their child is exposed at school),and those who live or work within congregate or communal facilities.

Alberta still has not adopted the federal contact tracing app, despite the provincial government saying it would do so in August. Hinshaw said the provincial app remains availablebut that no app is a magic bullet reducing close contacts and following guidance remains the most effective strategy for reducing spread.

Premier Jason Kenney warned Alberta Health Services may need to cancel elective surgeries, as it did in the spring, to make more room for potential COVID patients, should case numbers continue to escalate.

"We're all fed up with this," Kenney said Monday of the pandemic. "But now, more than ever, we need to take this seriously. And the single biggest thing people could do is just stop with the private parties and the social gatherings."

'Knock it off': Premier Jason Kenney urges Albertans to avoid partying

4 years ago

Duration 3:36

Premier Jason Kenney is calling on all Albertans to listen to public health advice around COVID-19 and stop partying.

Siksika Nation announced that it will be closing its administration from Nov. 9 to 13 after its local risk level was elevated to RED or, high riskdue to consistent new cases without a known source. Earlier this week, it announced that it would be closing all of its schools and its homeless shelter after cases within the community jumped from zero to more than a dozen in just a few days.

A new temporary measure,which caps attendance at 15 for events where people will be "mixing and mingling" like parties and baby showers,appliesin theCalgary and Edmonton areas.

The province is also recommending voluntary measures in both cities: wearingnon-medical masks in all indoor work settings, except where people are alone in an office or cubicle, or a barrier is in place, and limiting themselves to no more than three cohorts.

There are currently outbreaks at nine hospitals. There is also oneadditional hospitalin Calgary with units under watch.

Dr. Laurie-Ann Baker, an ER doctor and associate zone medical director with Alberta Health Services (AHS), said their biggest focus right now is on the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary, which has six cases on three units.

One person has died due to the outbreaks at the PLC.

"We want to avoid hospitals and the community becoming overwhelmed," she said.

Here's the regional breakdown of active cases reported on Wednesday. Numbers for Thursday were not immediately available due to technical problems with the province's reporting system:

• Edmonton zone: 2,642, up from 2,581on Tuesday.
• Calgary zone: 2,610, up from 2,532.
• North zone: 400, downfrom 413.
• South zone: 333, up from 317.
• Central zone: 224, down from 235.
• Unknown: 21, down from 32.

Find out which neighbourhoods or communities have the most cases, how hard people of different ages have been hit, the ages of people in hospital, how Alberta compares to other provinces and more in: Here are the latest COVID-19 statistics for Alberta and what they mean

What you need to know today in Canada:

As of 8:00a.m. ET on Friday,provinces and territories inCanada had reported a cumulative total of 251,338confirmed or presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 207,998as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 10,380.

Canada has quietly revised its guidelines on how COVID-19 spreads to include the risk of aerosol transmission, weeks after other countries and international health organizations acknowledged the airborne threat of the coronavirus.

"SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spreads from an infected person to others through respiratory droplets and aerosols created when an infected person coughs, sneezes, sings, shouts, or talks," the updated guidance said.

"The droplets vary in size from large droplets that fall to the ground rapidly (within seconds or minutes) near the infected person, to smaller droplets, sometimes called aerosols, which linger in the air under some circumstances."

Ontario reported 998additional cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. Of those new cases, 350 were found in Toronto, 269 in Peel and 71 in York Region. The seven-day average for casesis now up to 982.Updated hospitalization data was not yet available, but as of Wednesday, the province hadreported 367 hospitalizations, with 75 in ICU.

A record high of 425 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in B.C. on Thursday. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced that there have been no new deaths, but the number of active cases, now at 3,389,has risen to its highest total to date. That includes 97 patients who are in hospital, including 24 in intensive care.

Saskatchewan reported 129 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. This is the highest climb in daily cases in the province since the beginning of the pandemic.

InManitoba, the Red Cross has been asked toprovide staff to help care for residents at some long-term care homes dealing withCOVID-19 outbreaks. On Thursday, the number of patients in hospital with the illness jumped to 153, up by 13 compared withWednesday, with 16 of those in intensive care units.

Quebec reported 1,138new cases of COVID-19 and 28more deaths on Thursday, 10of which were in the past 24 hours. Since the start of the pandemic, there have been111,056confirmedcases and6,378people have died.

The Public Health Agency of Canadais now recommending Canadians choosethree-layer non-medical maskswitha filter layerto prevent the spread of COVID-19 as they prepareto spend more timeindoors over the winter.

According torecently updated guidelines,two layers of the maskshould be made of a tightly woven fabric, such as cotton or linen, and the middle layer should be a filter-type fabric, such as non-woven polypropylene fabric.

The Public Health websitenow includes instructionsfor making three-layer masks.

Self-assessment and supports:

With winter cold and influenza season approaching, Alberta Health Services will prioritize Albertans for testing who have symptoms, and those groups which are at higher risk of getting or spreading the virus.

General asymptomatictesting is currently unavailable for people with no known exposure to COVID-19.

The province says Albertans who have returned to Canada from other countries must self-isolate. Unless your situation is critical and requires a call to 911, Albertans are advised to call Health Link at 811 before visiting a physician, hospital or other health-care facility.

If you have symptoms, even mild, you are to self-isolate for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms, until the symptoms have disappeared.

You can find Alberta Health Services' latest coronavirus updates here.

The province also operates a confidential mental health support line at 1-877-303-2642 and addiction help line at 1-866-332-2322, both available 24 hours a day.

Online resources are available for advice on handling stressful situations and ways to talk with children.

There is a 24-hour family violence information line at 310-1818 to get anonymous help in more than 170 languages, and Alberta's One Line for Sexual Violence is available at 1-866-403-8000, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.