The number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise and some of Alberta’s long-term and continuing care facilities are being hit hard from the virus.
Across the province there have been 96 new COVID-19 cases since Wednesday (Apr. 1) for a total of 968, while 174 people have now recovered.
As of Thursday (Apr. 2) there are 74 cases and 9 outbreaks at care homes across the province, including 65 in the McKenzie Towne Continuing Care Centre in Calgary.
A fourth resident of that facility, a man in his 90’s, has died since Wednesday’s update. A man in his 80’s in the North Zone has also passed away, bringing the total number of deaths in the province to 13.
The South Zone has recorded its first cases in over a week. There is one additional case of COVID-19 in Lethbridge and one in Medicine Hat. The southern Alberta total is now up to 14, however that is well below every other health zone in the province.
As for the City of Lethbridge, 3 are on the west side and 3 now on the south side, according to AHS data. There are no cases in north Lethbridge. There are also two cases of the virus in the MD of Taber which is unchanged for more than a week. Like Lethbridge, Medicine Hat now has a total of 6.
Alberta’s Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw says since Wednesday, the province has really ramped up testing for the novel coronavirus, with more than 4,000 tests conducted over the past day.
The total tests as of April 2nd are at just over 57,000 province-wide including 2,721 in South Zone.