COVID-19

There are 34 more people in the hospital with COVID-19 as of Thursday morning.

There are 665 COVID-19 patients in the hospital, with 586 of those people having active cases of the virus.

There are 50 people in intensive care, with 44 of those patients having active cases. The number of ICU cases has not changed since Wednesday. 

Hospitalizations by health region include:

Earlier today, Premier Doug Ford announced a three-step plan to gradually ease public health measures starting on January 31, 2022.

“The evidence tells us that the measures we put in place to the blunt transmission of Omicron are working,” said Premier Doug Ford. “We can be confident that the worst is behind us and that we are now in a position to cautiously and gradually ease public health measures. While February will continue to present its own challenges, given current trends these are challenges we are confident we can manage.”

As of January 18, 2022 the City of Grande Prairie has 369 active cases of COVID-19, and the County of Grande Prairie has 99 cases.

Cases of COVID-19 across the rest of the province sit at 67,534 active cases. 

Hospitalizations are currently at 1,101, and a total of 108 Albertans are in intensive care receiving treatment. 

It's been nearly two weeks since students across the province returned to their classrooms, and many schools still haven't received the COVID-19 safety items promised by the Alberta Government.

A Dryden-based company is using technology to grow fresh produce to distribute across the region to assist in the ongoing food shortages brought on by COVID-19.

AgriTech North Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Benjamin Feagin Jr. said his operation is the first wholesale scale year-round producer in Northwestern Ontario.

“We grow a variety of fresh produce from leafy greens, to culinary herbs, to fruit and crops such as cherry tomatoes, fairytale eggplant, and a number of other crops,” said Feagin Jr.

The spread of COVID-19 has been ramping up as the Omicron variant makes its way through the province. The impacts can be felt in Strathmore and the surrounding county. 

Fourth doses of the COVID-19 vaccine are being made available to immunocompromised Albertans over 18, Chief Medical Officer of Health for Alberta, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said on Tuesday. 

The province reported 3,837 new COVID-19 cases and a positivity rate of 38 per cent on Wednesday, January 19.

The good news is that the overall active case count in the province saw a decrease to 67,534.

Hospitalizations increased by 12 for a total of 1,101 and ICU admissions increased by four to 108. 

One additional death has been reported bringing the total in the province to 3,413. 

Cochrane is reporting 515 active COVID-19 cases and Rocky View County has 618. 

Brian Hunter, head coach of the Springbank Phoenix senior boys basketball team, has launched an online petition in hopes of persuading the board of trustees of the Rocky View School Division (RVS) to allow sports teams to play more than league games.

His petition on change.org is asking the board to change the rules and believes some middle ground can be reached that would allow school athletes to have a more fulfilling season.

Public health officials advise 15 new deaths in people with COVID-19 are being reported today:

Twelve more people with COVID-19 have died since Tuesday.

There are 631 people in the hospital, with 601 of those people having active cases of the virus. 

In intensive care, there are 50 people, with 49 of those cases being active.

Twelve more people have died since Tuesday, totalling 1,478 deaths.

Deaths include: