Alberta continues to set records for the number of active COVID-19 cases across the province.
A total of 477 new cases were confirmed between Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing the number of active cases up to 4,921.
It’s the eleventh day in a row the province has set an active case record.
There were also five additional COVID-related deaths since Wednesday’s update, one of them here in Lethbridge.
It’s the second time this week a local resident has died of coronavirus related issues.
Lethbridge also confirmed 14 new cases of the virus and has 155 that are active.
Meanwhile, Alberta is officially removing runny nose and sore throat from the list of symptoms that require mandatory isolation for children.
The change comes into effect on Monday.
Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw says this only applies to kids who have had no known contact with a COVID-19 case.
Children with a core isolation symptom – cough, fever, shortness of breath, loss of taste or smell – must still isolate for ten days or have a negative test result and resolved symptoms before they can return to school or activities.
Hinshaw says the changes align with Ontario, BC, and Quebec adding those provinces haven’t seen an increase in COVID-transmission in schools since they updated their symptom list.