EDMONTON — The majority of Alberta's COVID-19 deaths over the weekend were at a long-term care home in Edmonton and the provincial health service has taken over its day-to-day operations, the chief medical officer of health said.
In her coronavirus briefing on Monday, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said five of eight deaths over the last three days were linked to an outbreak at the Good Samaritan Southgate Care Centre.
"This move was not taken lightly, but will provide more supports to help improve outbreak control, ensure appropriate levels of staff are in place, as well as infection prevention and control measures to address the site's COVID-19 outbreak," Hinshaw said.
In all, 12 residents there have died and 47 others are infected along with 14 staff, Hinshaw said. Alberta Health Services took over operations Friday.
"I know that many families in and around Edmonton have been impacted by this outbreak," she said.
"It is yet another example of COVID-19's ability to spread rapidly and of the devastating impacts this virus can have on some of the most vulnerable members of our society."
Also Monday, the province said there were 1,430 active cases of the illness, with 304 cases reported between Friday and Sunday.
Hinshaw said 110 were reported Friday, 103 on Saturday and 91 on Sunday.
Eighty-eight people were being treated in Alberta hospitals for the illness, with 17 of them in intensive care. The eight new fatalities have also brought the virus's death toll in Alberta to 186.
"As we see in the case numbers, the curve is no longer flat in Alberta," she said.
"We all need to assess our own lives for where we are at risk of spreading or contracting the virus. All of us can take changes to our daily routines to prevent the spread of COVID."
The province now has a new risk-assessment tool to help people understand their risk for severe outcomes should they become infected, Hinshaw said.
"This is something we have been asked for by Albertans who want to know which medical conditions are linked to the highest risk of severe outcomes."
Hinshaw stopped short of saying that the province should lock down again, adding that "we can get back to where we were just a month ago when moved forward with relaunch because our active case numbers were low."
"It's really important to remember that health is about more than the avoidance of COVID-19," she said.
"When we had broad closures ... we did see impacts on peoples' health from isolation and loss of employment."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 27, 2020
Daniela Germano, The Canadian Press
