Athabasca area counts 44 active COVID cases

ATHABASCA - In the last 48 hours, the number of active COVID-19 cases within the borders of Athabasca County have risen significantly.

On Sunday, Dec.13, the day the province implemented mandatory restrictions on gatherings and face-coverings to offset the number of active cases being reported across the province, the Athabasca area had an active case count of 32, which has since risen to 44 on Dec. 15. Fifty-five have recovered, and there have been no deaths, bringing the region's total case count to 99.

The active case rate per 100,000 within the borders of Athabasca County, which also includes stats from the Town of Athabasca and Village of Boyle, stands at 333.4 with a population of 13,196.

The temporary face-covering bylaw adopted by both the Town of Athabasca and Athabasca County was activated at a rate of 50, but the provincial public health orders introduced Dec. 8, override the municipal bylaws. 

After having more active cases than the rest of the county at a time four weeks ago, the Boyle area now accounts for seven active cases, one more than on Sunday. Twenty-seven have also recovered, for a total of 34 cases since March.

The Boyle area, in the southeast portion of the county, is also bordered to the southeast by Smoky Lake County whose numbers now sit at 77, down from 91, 48 hours before, with an active case rate per 100,000 of 914.4. There has also been one reported death.

To the south, Thorhild County now has 14 active cases and 14 recovered cases.

In Westlock County, the number of active cases was at 23 Tuesday, with an active case rate at 168.2 per 100,000 residents. One man has died as a result of the virus there, and in the County of Barrhead, the map shows two deaths in that area, and the number of active cases is now at eight.

To the west of Athabasca County, the M.D. of Lesser Slave River has 21 active cases and 71 recovered. To the north, the M.D. of Opportunity is at 12 active cases with 73 recoveries and a rate of 180.6. To the east, there are 61 active cases within the borders of Lac La Biche County, all but one is within the Hamlet of Lac La Biche. There were also two deaths reported last week.

On Dec. 13, the first COVID-19 vaccines in Alberta were administered to a respiratory therapist in Edmonton and an ICU nurse in Calgary, and the province expects to receive 25,300 more units of the Pfizer vaccine in a week, and another shipment of the Moderna vaccine a week after that.

On Tuesday, chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw reported 1,341 new cases in Alberta since Monday, along with 11 additional deaths, bringing those numbers to 20,649 and 744 respectively. There are now 742 people hospitalized, and 137 of those are in intensive care.

“We each need to continue to do everything we can to help prevent one more person from ending up in hospital,” Hinshaw said.

“The only way we can get transmission under control is by all of us doing our part. For the rest of the month, we all need to make good choices and to rigorously follow all legal orders in place."

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