The number of active COVID-19 cases within the County of Barrhead has fallen from nine to seven over the past three days.
According to the geospatial map that lists all COVID-19 cases within Alberta, the number of active cases stood at nine on Dec. 14, but that number has fallen to seven as of today.
The total number of cases in County of Barrhead since the beginning of the COVID-19 cases now stands at 42. There have 33 recoveries and two deaths.
The Town of Whitecourt to the west currently has five active cases and 41 recoveries, while Lac Ste. Anne County to the south has 57 active cases, 134 recoveries and six deaths.
During the daily COVID-19 update, chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw reported the current number of active cases now stands at 19,865, with another 1,571 new cases being identified in the last 24 hours. The testing positivity rate stands at 7.9 per cent.
There are currently 763 Albertans in hospital, including 138 who have been admitted to the ICU.
Hinshaw noted that an additional 30 deaths had occured because of COVID-19. While not all of these deaths occured in the last 24 hours, Hinshaw noted that this was the highest daily number of deaths she had reported since the start of this pandemic.
A total of 790 Albertans have now died from COVID-19.
Noting that there is only one week left before the start of some statutory holidays, Hinshaw acknowledged that holiday gatherings are no doubt at the top of many Albertans' minds, but such gatherings are not only against the legal restrictions, but also the wrong thing to do.
While some might see bending the rules as the right thing, Hinshaw pointed out that many outbreaks have occurred because of Albertans who thought it was safe to gather and did not connect a stuffy nose or a headache with having COVID-19. Alternatively, some outbreaks have occured when Albertans felt fine and were still a day or two from developing symptoms.
"These orders are not recommendations; they are legal restrictions, and for them to be effective, we need everyone to do their part," she said.
Hinshaw also reported that last night, a total of 394 health care workers received their first dose of vaccine against COVID-19. While many people are eager to be vaccinated, she stressed that it will take time to get enough doses for the millions of Albertans who wishes to be vaccinated.
"Please be patient while we all wait for our turn, and be supportive of those who were in the initial groups to be immunized," she said, adding this includes critical health care and long-term care workers, as well as those living in continuing care.
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