Athabasca COVID numbers rise and fall over weekend

ATHABASCA - COVID numbers in the Athabasca region fluctuated throughout the weekend, falling as low as 21 active cases Saturday, then back up to 26 today.

There have also been 32 recoveries for a total of 58 cases since March.

The Boyle area accounts for eight of the current active cases within the borders of Athabasca County, which also includes the Town of Athabasca.

The active case rate per 100,000 residents in the three municipalities now sits at 197, 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, and will be in effect for all indoor public spaces and vehicles until 14 days after the rate falls back to 50.

The Boyle area, in the southeast portion of the county, is also bordered to the southeast by Smoky Lake County whose numbers continue to rise and now sit at 92, with an active case rate per 100,000 of 1092.5.

To the southwest in Westlock County, the number of active cases rose to 22 Monday. The active case rate is now at 160.9 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, but the number of active cases is at just six.

To the west of Athabasca County, the M.D. of Lesser Slave River has 33 active cases and 44 recovered. The M.D. of Opportunity is at 11 active cases and 64 recoveries with rate of 165.5. To the east, there are 83 active cases within the borders of Lac La Biche County, all but two are within the Hamlet of Lac La Biche.

In Thorhild County, there are now 10 active cases and seven recoveries. On Sunday night, Aspen View Public Schools reported two more individuals from Thorhild Central School tested positive, resulting in 13 students and six staff members being identified as close contacts by the division and directed to isolate themselves.

Aspen View oversees schools in four counties, and has dealt with at least one case in all four.

A public health emergency was declared by Alberta premier Jason Kenney Nov. 24, which introduced a list of new mandatory measures regarding social gatherings, schooling and masks in workplaces, among others.

On Monday, Alberta's chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw reported that active cases continue to rise across the province and that more stringent measures will be required to "bend the curve."

"I think that the current measures that we have in place are not likely to be sufficient to bring down our numbers," She said. "If the goal is to bring our numbers down, we will need additional measures to be able to do that."

Her team is currently working on recommendations that will go before premier Kenney and his cabinet for final decision on any further restrictions.

In the last 24 hours, the number active cases rose by 1,735, pushing the number of Albertans with an active diagnosis to 20,067. There were also 19 more deaths, bringing that total to 631. Last Thursday, that number stood at 561. There are now 609 people hospitalized, and 108 of those are in intensive care.

"The rising fatalities that we are reporting is a tragic reminder of the deadly power of this virus, and why it is vital that we slow the spread," Hinshaw said.