In Alberta today, 56 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed from 7,987 test in the last 24 hours. Ninety-three more Albertans recovered, for 9,984 total recoveries, leaving 1,107 active cases.

Dr. Hinshaw says that about 1 in 7 Albertans have been tested at some point for the virus. The total is 607,363.  

Currently 76 people are in the hospital with 19 of these in intensive care. There have been two new deaths, with one of these being at the Good Samaritan Southgate Care Centre. The total is now 205. 

The City and County of Grande Prairie have each seen one person recover. The City has nine active cases and 29 recoveries. Three people still have the virus in the County and 20 have recovered. Mackenzie County also has one recovery and no new cases today. They have 54 active, 114 recoveries and two deaths. 

Dr. Hinshaw noted that this is the seventh day in a row of less than 100 daily cases, and she is cautiosly optimistic. She wants Albertans to be proud of what they have accomplished and be encouraged to keep up the good work.  

As she says, everyone is still at risk of contract COVID-19, and our practices remain the same. When we practice social distance outside our families and cohorts, wear masks when not able to, wash hands frequently and stay home when sick, cases go down. When we do not, they go up. 

Dr. Hinshaw spent a little time talking about vaccines today. She says there are several being worked on around the world that show promise, but we need to be wary of false hope. We can’t know if or when a highly effective vaccine will be created and available to Albertans. It could also take multiple doses over many weeks. As hard as it is to hear, she says, we will likely still be fighting COVID-19 in 2021, and so we need to build up good habits now. 

Watch the full update here: