Seven more people have died form COVID-19, the highest number of deaths recorded in a single day from the virus.
This includes four deaths at the McKenzie Towne Long Term Care facility in Calgary, said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, bringing the total number of people who have died from the virus at the facility to 17.
"To the family and friends of these seven people, and to all who have recently lost loved ones to any cause, I extend my deep condolences," Hinshaw said at a media conference Friday.
"I know that many people are concerned about the health of residents at continuing care facilities, and I am as well. We are exploring every option to prevent illness and deaths, and keep people in continuing care facilities safe and healthy."
New steps are being now being taken to slow the spread of the virus in continuing care facilities in Alberta.
All workers at continuing care facilities are now required to wear masks at all times when providing direct patient care, or while working in areas within two metres of others.
In addition, all workers in continuing care facilities are only permitted to work at one site at a time.
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These measures were already in place for sites currently dealing with an outbreak, but they are now required for all long-term care facilities in the province, Hinshaw said.
"We know we have a problem with cases in long-term care facilities, we have several outbreaks and we are doing everything we can to prevent more outbreaks and deal with the ones we currently have."
Lodges with no supportive living designation and group providers are encouraged to allow staff to only work at one site, however these measures are voluntary at the moment, Hinshaw said.
In addition to these changes, all healthcare workers providing direct patient care are now required to wear a surgical or procedural mask continuously at all times and in all areas where social distancing isn't possible.
"AHS is making this change to protect patients from inadvertent exposure from a healthcare worker who could be without symptoms but still infectious."
Earlier this week, tighter restrictions have been placed on visitors to continuing care centres, group homes and other facilities. No visitors will be allowed unless a resident is dying or the visitor is essential for delivering care that cannot be delivered by staff.
"While these steps are necessary to prevent the spread of infection to and among elderly people who are at high risk of severe outcomes for this illness, they are not easy," she said.
"I know many Albertans are finding new ways to connect with their loved ones in continuing care facilities, and I'm encouraged to hear your stories. From making signs to hold up a family member's window, to virtual visits using a tablet, and especially essentially picking up the phone, thank you for doing your best to make this difficult time a little easier for some of the most vulnerable members of our communities."
When asked why mask requirements were not implemented sooner, Hinshaw said there is enough evidence now to show the risk of asymptomatic transmission for COVID-19 is higher than previously understood.
To enforce these measures across the board, health officials also needed to have processes in place beforehand to make sure all of these sites have access to enough masks and personal protective equipment.
"We wanted to make sure we had processes in place to enhance supplies, and we were doing all of the legwork so that we weren't implementing this recommendation without the means to make it happen."
Hinshaw said Alberta Health Services will be shipping out personal protective equipment to all continuing care facilities n the province over the weekend, and is expected to arrive to these sites on Monday.
Forty-nine new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the province, bringing the total number of cases to 1,500. Of the total cases, 713 people have recovered, 121 more people than yesterday.
Of the 1,451 total cases, 201 are suspected of being a result of community transmission.
In the last 24 hours, 2,123 COVID-19 tests have been done.
"As of last night, I was told more than 6,000 people have been referred for testing in the previous 24 hours, so I expect the number of tests processed at the lab to rise in the days to come."
