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Alberta reports 14 new cases, 17 recoveries of COVID-19 in weekend report

Last Updated Sep 15, 2020 at 12:32 am MDT

This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the virus that causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. Excitement about treating the new coronavirus with malaria drugs is raising hopes, but the evidence that they may help is thin. (NIAID-RML via AP)

Alberta reports 14 new cases and 17 recoveries of COVID-19 in the RMWB over the weekend.

In the urban service area, there are 13 new cases and 16 recoveries of the illness.

Fort McMurray has 51 active cases, one death, and 143 recovered cases of COVID-19.

Outside the urban service area, there is each one new case and recovery for totals of four active cases and 59 resolved cases.

RELATED: COVID-19 update closes out difficult week in Fort McMurray

Across the province, there are 418 active cases and one death recovered cases of COVID-19 in the last 72 hours.

On Sept. 11, there were 105 new cases, 173 new cases on Sept. 12, and 140 on Sept. 13.

Dr Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health, said that the current rate of infection in Alberta is relatively manageable.

While numbers are not ideal, there isn’t a single cutoff that would trigger a particular action.

“We need to look at not just the number of cases, but where the cases are being spread, who is impacted, and is it individuals who are at the highest risk and is it spreading into those groups.”

Hinshaw said it’s about keeping the province’s numbers steady and low, and not overwhelming the health care system.

She thanked the additional AHS staff who assisted in addressing the backlog in testing.

Hinshaw said while it is not the norm, they completed 46,127 tests in that timespan.

Hinshaw said health official completed almost 19,000 tests on Saturday, Sept. 12, for a new one-day record.

The infection rate in the new samples is around 0.9 per cent.

Alberta has 1538 active cases, 254 deaths, and 14,041 resolved cases of the illness.

When asked about the number of students made to self-isolate due to COVID-19, Hinshaw said public health tracks the number of contacts possibly impacted.

2380 or 98 per cent of Alberta schools are open without at least one reported case of the illness.

Hinshaw said 35 schools reported a total of 42 cases of COVID-19.

She added she hopes for more school-focused contact tracing.

37 Albertans are currently in hospital, including seven in intensive care.

To date, health officials conducted 1,130,828 tests.

Hinshaw will provide another update later this week.