COVID-19

The province is reporting another 4,869 new cases on Thursday, January 6 with a positivity rate of 39.5 per cent.

There are now 39,897 active cases in Alberta.

Hospitalizations are starting to increase with 28 more admissions in the past 24 hours bringing the total to 498.

ICU admissions increased by three to 64.

Sadly, another three deaths have been reported bringing the total in the province to 3,336.

Cochrane’s active case count jumped by 31 to 335 and Rocky View County saw an increase of 13 for a total of 412 active cases.

There are 2,548 new COVID-19 cases Thursday and six more deaths.

Public Health says there are now 91,587 total COVID-19 cases, with 21,277 of those cases being labelled as active. Active cases are an overestimate as there is a backlog that is expected to continue as case numbers rise.

On Wednesday during a press conference, Manitoba's Deputy Chief Public Health Officer said he estimates actual case counts are eight to 10 times higher because of the high transmissibility of omicron. 

Dr. Deena Hinshaw provided a live COVID-19 update for Wednesday, January 5.

The province reported 4,752 new cases in a 24 hour period.  Alberta is reporting a positivity rate of 36.9 per cent. Hospitalizations rose slightly by four to 470 and ICU admissions increased by 11 to 72.

Another 11 deaths were reported bringing the total in the province to 3,333. 

Strathmore's active case count rose to 146, Wheatland County's case count is at 53 while Rocky View County is reporting 406 cases. 

Senior leadership at the Lake of the Woods District Hospital said they are facing one of its worst staff shortages since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and in the last 20 to 30 years.

Hospital CEO, Ray Racette outlined the shortage of staff members at a media briefing on New Year's Eve.

“The lowest staff that we have has been really presenting a big challenge for us as a hospital, and I think our staff has worked very hard to maintain our services,” said Racette.

A remote First Nation community in the Sioux Lookout area says roughly half of their members are currently infected with COVID-19 after a major outbreak, and are calling on the federal government’s immediate support.

Bearskin Lake First Nation declared a state of emergency due to an outbreak of COVID-19 infections on December 29. By January 3, 174 individuals had tested positive for the virus – representing about half of the community’s total population.

Instead of heading west to Manitoba to open up the second half of their season, the Kenora U18 AAA Thistles (2-25-1) are stuck waiting as their season is paused after recent restrictions came into effect on Wednesday (January 5, 2022).

The new restrictions closed all indoor sport and recreational facilities, leaving the Thistles along with many other teams the inability to play or practice for at least 21 days.

“It’s disappointing, everybody wanted to continue playing. At this point now we’re just stuck in limbo and waiting until then,” said head coach Scott Parsons.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw provided a live COVID-19 update for Wednesday, January 5.

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange says that all K-12 students in Alberta will return to in-class learning on Monday (Jan. 10).

Upon return, students will be provided the added protection of medical-grade masks and rapid tests. 

The shipments of masks and rapid tests will begin this week with all schools receiving initial shipments by the end of next week. 

The health measures already in place such as masking, physical distancing, cohorts, enhanced sanitization, and hygiene practices will continue. 

Alberta students will be headed back to in-class learning next week.

Education minister Adriana LaGrange says the decision comes after a great deal of discussion with school divisions around the province.

"ECS and kindergarten to grade 12 students will return to classrooms on January 10th," LaGrange says. "Children who learn in person belong in the classroom and they will be there with the added safety of rapid tests and medical-grade masks."

She says shipments are going out this week and all school divisions should have them soon.

The recent announcement of online learning to start the new year has many parents expressing concern.

Tara Rempel and her husband work outside the home. Their two teenage children attend school in Winnipeg, grades 10 and 12. The recent announcement of all Manitoba schools moving to online learning for the first week back to school means the Rempel kids will be at home alone while doing their online learning, and many families in the province are in the same situation.