WESTLOCK — No new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in the Westlock area since yesterday’s update.
There are seven active cases in the area of 176 recorded since the start of the pandemic. Two people have died, including a 90-year-old resident at the Westlock Continuing Care Centre, and 167 others have recovered.
The area includes the Town of Westlock, Westlock County and the Village of Clyde.
In Alberta, 339 new cases were reported today out of about 10,800 tests for a positivity rate of 3.2 per cent. There are 5,706 active cases in the province.
There are 113 cases of the variant first identified in the UK, and seven of the variant first identified in South Africa.
Two variant cases have likely been acquired at school. Seven classes in six schools have been in contact with a person who was infectious. COVID-19 variant cases were first detected in two Calgary students, who had acquired it from parents who travelled abroad and went to school while infectious. The students hadn’t tested positive at that point.
There are 421 people in hospital, including 77 in ICU. Six people have died since yesterday which brings the death toll in the province to 1,728.
Thirteen per cent, or 303 schools are on alert or outbreak with a total of 867 cases recorded since Jan. 11. None of the Westlock area schools have two or more active cases.
The province has administered 129,452 doses of the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines as of yesterday. Of those, 36,999 people have received both doses. In long-term care and designated supported living housing, 71 per cent of residents have been fully immunized.
CMOH addresses mental health
Alberta’s chief medical officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw advised Albertans to be aware of their mental health during isolation.
Hinshaw quoted numbers from a Health Quality Council of Alberta survey of pandemic experiences: 70 per cent of respondents said they were stressed out, 46 per cent felt lonely, and more than half said their mental health deteriorated.
Another national survey in December showed similar numbers.
“It’s now been over 11 months since COVID-19 arrived in Alberta. In many ways, we have each gotten used to our new normal, wearing masks, physical distancing, washing our hands, but that doesn’t mean these things don’t continue to impact our mental wellbeing,” Hinshaw said.
She urged Albertans to seek the help they need through available avenues: mental health, youth, and addictions helplines and other services, available through Alberta Health Services here: Help in Tough Times.
Dr. Hinshaw will give her next update Thursday, Feb. 11.
Andreea Resmerita, TownandCountryToday.com
Watch Dr. Hinshaw's Feb. 10 COVID-19 update:
