LETHBRIDGE, AB – A continued steady increase in the number of active COVID-19 cases in Lethbridge.
Data for March 13 (released on Sunday, March 14) shows 415 active cases of the virus in the city.
That number has continued to climb for the past several weeks, surpassing Lethbridge’s previous record high of 259 set on Dec. 7 during the peak of the second wave.
Late last week, Alberta Health Services confirmed to our radio station that while outbreaks are related to some of the active cases, the majority have been linked to family gatherings and visits between households.
There have been 2540 total cases of COVID-19 in Lethbridge since the onset of the pandemic, 25 deaths and 2100 recoveries as of March 13.
Several schools in both the Lethbridge School Division and Holy Spirit Catholic School Division are also reporting an increase in positive cases.
Students at St. Francis Junior High will be learning from home this week as there are currently five COVID cases there, requiring 41 percent of students, 50 percent of teachers, and 44 percent of support staff to quarantine or isolate at home.
As of March 13, the district as a whole had ten active cases requiring the isolation of roughly 350 staff and students.
As of March 14, the Lethbridge School Division reported just under 40 active cases though the approximate number of staff and students isolating was not provided.
Over the past day, 40 people in Lethbridge tested positive for COVID-19 out of 68 total in the South Zone of Alberta Health Services.
Province-wide there were 388 new cases of the virus confirmed over the past day out of 8,343 tests for a provincial positivity rate of about 4.6 percent.
South Zone COVID-19 outbreaks as of March 12, 2021:
Acute care facilities
Cardston Health Centre
Chinook Regional Hospital
Long term care facilities
The Valleyview, Medicine Hat
Supportive living/home living sites
Edith Cavell Care Centre, Lethbridge
Grandview Village, Lethbridge
Martha’s House, Lethbridge
Quest Support group home, Lethbridge
The View at Lethbridge
Other facilities and settings
Blackfoot Family Lodge Society, Lethbridge
Haul All Equipment, Lethbridge
Lethbridge Alpha House
Safe Haven Women’s Shelter, Taber