According to the geospatial map that lists COVID-19 cases in municipalities across the province, there are fewer than a dozen active cases in Athabasca, Barrhead and Westlock as of June 29.
The map lists five active cases within the County of Barrhead, two active cases within Westlock County and three cases within Athabasca Count for a total of 10.
Most nearby municipalities also have low COVID-19 numbers, though Lac Ste. Anne County is an exception with 15 cases in total.
Throughout the course of the pandemic, there have been 378 cases of COVID-19 identified in the County of Barrhead, 419 cases identified in Westlock County and 718 cases within Athabasca County.
Though most have recovered, there have also been eight deaths throughout the three municipalities.
Earlier today, chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw gave her final planned update on the COVID-19 situation within Alberta.
She noted that because schools are now closed (except for summer schools), the province’s COVID-19 website will be altered on Friday to remove the map listing outbreaks at schools.
As well, they are also changing the way they calculate the percentage of Albertans who have gotten their first or both doses of vaccine. Hinshaw said this will now be based on Statistics Canada’s 2020 population data instead of Alberta Health’s 2021 population data.
This will bring Alberta in line with many other jurisdictions that do the same and also bring up the numbers slightly in terms of vaccination rates.
“This does not change the fact that every dose matters, and I am asking everyone to get fully vaccinated as soon as possible,” she said.
In the last 24 hours, Alberta Health has identified 61 new active cases had been identified out of 3,400 new tests being conducted, which means a positivity rate of around 1.6 per cent. (Incidentally, that includes 16 new variant cases.)
The total number of active cases across the province now stands at 1,132, with 170 Albertans in hospital and 36 admitted to the ICU.
Hinshaw said the total number of active cases, hospitalizations and ICU admissions are lower than they’ve been since late last summer.
“Across the board, numbers are moving in the right direction,” she said.
Incidentally, 72.7 per cent of the population over the age of 12 has received at least one dose of vaccine, while 40.7 per cent of Albertans have gotten two doses.
Hinshaw briefly addressed reports of side effects from vaccines from Israel and the U.S., where some young males are experiencing mild inflammation of their heart tissue and the lining of their heart after receiving vaccines.
This inflammation is treatable, and even in those countries, health authorities agree that the benefits of being vaccinated outweigh those side effects.
She also acknowledged that virtually all public health restrictions will be lifted as of July 1.
Despite the lifting of restrictions, she urged anyone who feels sick to remain at home and get tested for COVID-19.
She also suggested that parents with children under the age of 12 must make some careful decisions about what activities they will participate in, with indoor activities in poorly-ventilated areas posing the most risk.
Hinshaw also commented on “unused vaccines,” noting that as of July 1, Alberta has about 4,532 unused AstraZeneca vaccines that went unused due to low demand and will now have to be disposed of.
She suggested that this is a relatively small number compared to other vaccine rollouts, especially compared to the nearly 300,0000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine administered.
Noting for a second time that this was her last planned update, Hinshaw said it has been a tremendous privilege to support Albertans in this way over the past 16 months.
Noting that the pandemic has challenged and “polarized” us at times, she said it also provided one indisputable fact: that we are stronger and safer together.