6 COVID-19 cases tied to Calgary restaurant as Alberta total tally surges

• Read the latest on the COVID-19 pandemic in Calgary, posted July 16, 2020: COVID-19 'watch' declared for Calgary-Centre and Calgary-Elbow

Six cases of COVID-19 have been linked with a Cactus Club restaurant in downtown Calgary, with the company saying it has voluntarily closed the location to conduct a deep clean.

"The safety and well-being of our guests and employees is our number one priority," reads a statement from the company. 

"While [Alberta Health Services] has not mandated it, we have decided to voluntarily close this location out of an abundance of caution to ensure the health of everyone."

Guests who visited the Stephen Avenue Cactus Club location between July 2 and 10 are asked to monitor themselves for symptoms and contact health authorities if necessary.

"We would like to reassure the public that this is a voluntary closure. We strictly adhere to the health and safety guidelines set by government agencies and health authorities and have also taken additional measures to keep our restaurants safe," the statement reads.

News of the latest COVID-19 cluster comes as the premier and Alberta's chief medical officer of health express concerns that the daily case count has continued to rise recently and that, in a worrisome trend, more young people are being infected with the virus.

As of Tuesday, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health, said over the past two weeks, 780 new cases had been identified in the province — with 57 per cent them among people under the age of 40. Of those cases, 30 per cent had not yet been linked to any known source.

Once again, she warned Albertans of how important it is to keep up the COVID-19 precautions, such as vigilant hand-washing and physical distancing.

On Wednesday, Alberta reported 82 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the number of active cases in the province to 704.

It's the fourth day in a row that the number of new cases remained above 80. The total number of cases in the province will soon surpass 9,000, sitting at 8,994.

The number of people requesting a COVID-19 test in the Calgary zone — which has the most active cases in the province — spiked to a new high this week.

The regional breakdown of active cases Wednesday was:

• Calgary zone: 312, up 17 from Tuesday.
• Edmonton zone: 194, down four from Tuesday.
• South zone: 81, down 23.
• North zone: 53, up three.
• Central zone: 61, up 13.
• Unknown: three, down three from Tuesday.

The Cactus Club said it has adopted a number of measures during the pandemic, including seating groups six feet apart or with physical barriers between tables.

Staff are also required to wear masks and other PPE, while the company said it also performs "rigorous cleaning and kitchen protocols."