Over the weekend, Alberta had 418 cases identified over the weekend from over 46,000 tests. 

There were 105 found on Sept. 11, 173 on Sept. 12 and 140 on Sept. 13. Dr. Hinshaw said in today’s update that while the numbers from Saturday and Sunday are a bit higher, this was due to a large number of tests completed. Saturday alone had almost 19,000 tests as extra help was brought in to deal with backlog. 

Dr. Hinshaw says it has not been the goal to complete that many tests daily but shows our surge capacity to do it when needed. 

There are now 1,538 active cases in the provinces and 322 recoveries over the weekend brings the recovered total to 14,041. Hospitalizations are down by four since Friday, with 37 currently in the hospital and seven of these in intensive care. 

One more COVID-19 related death was reported, meaning 254 lives have been lost due to the pandemic. 

Locally, two more cases were identified in the City of Grande Prairie and one in the County. Three more people recovered in the City.  

Northern Lights County had quite a few new cases, with 16 identified, for 26 active. There was an outbreak declared in Manning, which is in the County, on Friday, Sept. 11, at a private family gathering. 

Mackenzie County has another 16 new cases and 18 recoveries. New cases were also found in the MD of Greenview, MD of Peace and Northern Sunrise County. Clear Hills County and the MD of Fairview both saw a recovery. Clear Hills also had a case removed from their total. 

Area totals: 

There are now 42 cases of those who attended school while infectious identified at 35 schools. Three more outbreaks were declared, meaning there are six in the province with 2-4 cases each.  

Dr. Hinshaw says that the province’s commitment to transparency and acting quickly should not be seen as things not going well in schools. The current outbreaks have not been shown to be associated with in person transmission. Even the term outbreak is being used cautiously. To help keep on top of transmission, the province has defined an outbreak in a school as two people attending while infectious in the space of two weeks. This is easy to meet, especially in large schools. 

She says that while it is important to stay informed, having two cases does not mean that other classes or the community are at risk. These outbreaks so far indicate the numbers in the community, not transmission in schools.  

They are taking extra precautions right now by requiring all an infected student's classmates to isolate for 14 days. Dr. Hinshaw recognizes that this is inconvenient for families and asks them to be patient over the next few weeks. This helps to minimize transmission and evaluate Alberta Health’s definition of close contact in schools.  

Dr. Hinshaw says that we may see a rise in cases this fall, but whether this is a spike or ripple is up to us. It depends on our commitment to following health measures. 

Watch Dr. Hinshaw's Sept. 14 update here: