Alberta has identified three more cases of coronavirus, raising the tally to seven, the province’s chief medical officer of health said Monday.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw said the new cases — one in the Edmonton area and two in the Calgary area — are linked to recent travel or close contact with people who have tested positive for the COVID-19 illness.
“Quickly catching these cases before they have a chance to spread is exactly what our approach is designed to do,” Hinshaw said.
A woman in her 70s in the Edmonton area is the fifth case. She had close contact with a man who was announced Friday with a presumptive case of COVID-19. The woman was also on board the Grand Princess cruise ship before returning to Alberta on Feb. 21.
The sixth case is a man in his 30s in the Calgary area who had recently travelled to Ukraine, Turkey and the Netherlands. He is a close contact of a woman whose illness was reported Sunday. The man’s symptoms began after his return on March 2.
“Health officials had already reached out to all individuals who may have been in close contact with both of these new cases as a part of the previous investigation,” Hinshaw said.
The seventh case is a woman in her 50s in the Calgary area who returned from a Caribbean cruise on the MS Braemar cruise ship last Wednesday. She developed symptoms after she returned home and was tested in an assessment centre on Sunday.
All three people are in isolation at home and are expected to fully recover.
All cases confirmed
Hinshaw said Monday all cases of COVID-19 reported in the province are now confirmed. Positive tests no longer require further confirmation from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg.
Almost 1,000 tests were completed over the weekend, with 700 done on Sunday alone.
Hinshaw said that all seven cases in the province are travel related. She emphasized the virus does not spread like measles —through the air or over long distances over time.
“However, it can spread person to person by larger droplets, like from a cough or sneeze, or by touching contaminated objects, then touching your eyes, nose or mouth,” Hinshaw said.
“This means that close contacts are the ones who are at the greatest risk of contracting the virus. So these new cases are not surprising.”
Best practices to prevent the infection from spreading include washing your hands, avoiding touching your face, coughing and sneezing into your elbow or sleeve and throwing out tissues and staying home when feeling ill.
Hinshaw said the risk of exposure to the virus in Alberta is still low but could change in the coming weeks.
“We need to start thinking about what our new normal will look like over the coming months. With no vaccine for this virus likely to be available for a year or more, to protect the population we need to protect each other,” she said.
“It is time to start greeting each other with elbow bumps or waves instead of handshakes. This is not an overreaction, but a very practical way of limiting the spread of germs.”
Edmonton and Calgary have assessment centres for possible cases. While Hinshaw didn’t have specifics on locations, she said people would be advised by HealthLink on where to go.
“We are focusing those centres on those who’ve travelled. Those individuals who’ve travelled in the last 14 days and have those symptoms would be considered to be at the highest risk of being exposed,” she said.
School response
Hinshaw said in the event of an exposure concern at a school, AHS would send out notifications to parents.
Edmonton Public Schools spokeswoman Anna Batchelor said in a statement an update was shared with families and staff on Friday about coronavirus and precautions that can be taken. This includes students or staff members staying home if they are feeling ill.
“We know some of our families and staff have travel plans for spring break. We’ve asked families and staff to consult the Government of Canada travel advisory website for the most recent information about possible risks,” Batchelor said.
“As the situation evolves, we will continue to look to public health officials to guide our processes and response.”
Edmonton Catholic Schools has a pandemic committee in place that meets regularly to discuss the evolving situation, said spokeswoman Lori Nagy in a statement.
The school district is preparing a message for staff and parents ahead of spring break travel that will go out before the end of the week. Nagy said notices are based on AHS protocols for the virus.
According to the latest numbers from the World Health Organization, there are 110,029 confirmed cases worldwide and 3,817 deaths. In Canada, there are 72 confirmed cases and one death.
