Alberta reports 46 new cases of COVID-19, no new deaths
CBC News | Posted: June 19, 2020 7:30 PM | Last Updated: June 19, 2020
More socializing may be resulting in rise of cases among younger people
Alberta's chief medical officer of health reported 46 new cases of COVID-19 in the province Friday, and no new deaths.
While the number of active cases in Alberta has remained relatively stable, Edmonton numbers continue to rise steadily.
Edmonton now has almost the same number of active cases to Calgary, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said at a news conference.
There are 512 active cases in the province, 173 more than two weeks ago, Hinshaw said.
Across the province, 39 people are in hospital with the disease, including six in intensive care. The number of deaths remains at 152.
About 9,000 people were tested for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.
The City of Edmonton reported Friday that 10 workers have tested positive for COVID-19 in an outbreak at the city's main recycling plant. That outbreak has been added to the government's list of outbreaks being tracked across Alberta.
Here is a regional breakdown of active cases across the province:
Calgary zone: 233
Edmonton zone: 211
Central zone: 3
South zone: 30
North zone: 32
Unknown: 3
Edmonton zone: 211
Central zone: 3
South zone: 30
North zone: 32
Unknown: 3
Recent shift in COVID-19 cases
Hinshaw said a recent shift in the province shows more new cases originating in community settings like workplaces and large gatherings such as funerals, and fewer linked to continuing care facilities.
There are now only 26 active cases in continuing care facilities in Alberta, she said.
"Two recent funerals have recently led to a combined total of 24 new cases in Alberta with many more close contacts potentially exposed," she said. "The total number of cases will likely rise in the coming days."
Another transmission occurred at an apartment building where 12 people were infected.
"At the moment, it seems transmission is most likely to have happened through common, high-touch surfaces, emphasizing the need for cleaning and disinfection of these surfaces," Hinshaw said.
"Other key areas of risk are social gatherings like birthday parties and work meetings where distancing and masking are not in place.
"Indoor gatherings have a higher risk than outdoor gatherings," she said. "Workplaces need to consider how they will ensure that distancing and masking, when needed, are firmly embedded in return to the workplace strategies."
Spreading among younger people
Most of the new cases in Alberta involve younger people, Hinshaw said.
Sixty per cent of current active cases are people under the age of 40, Hinshaw said. Cases in people between the ages of 20 and 29 continue to rise.
It's a pattern being seen across the country, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada's chief public health officer, said Friday morning.
Younger people are making up a larger proportion of more recent cases, possibly because they're going out and socializing more, Tam said.
Tam warned though younger people may not get as sick as seniors, they're still capable of spreading the virus.
Earlier this week, Hinshaw said she is seeing patterns of transmission that seem to be arising from social events where people are not maintaining two metres of physical distance or wearing masks.
Hinshaw said all this means the novel coronavirus is still here and not going anywhere.
"This is not the time for complacency. We are not out of the woods yet and will not be for some time."