The Pincher Creek Region includes the Town of Pincher Creek; MD of Pincher Creek and its hamlets of Beaver Mines, Lowland Heights, Lundbreck, Pincher Station and Twin Butte; the Village of Cowley and Piikani Nation.

In total, 16,739 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in Alberta. Today’s update includes 358 new cases confirmed from 34,959 tested.

The provincial recovery rate is about 90 per cent as 15,024 have recovered from the virus.

The number of active cases in Alberta has increased by 35 to 1,459.

To date, there have been 256 Covid-19 related deaths in Alberta, with one new death reported today.

There are 51 people hospitalized, with nine in intensive care.

Chinook High School in Lethbridge remains listed as “open” on the province’s school outbreak map.

This is the only school outbreak listed in the south zone.

Eighteen other schools (nine in Calgary, five in Edmonton and one each in Okotoks, St. Albert, MD of Peace and RM of Wood Buffalo) have reported outbreaks. Two are under “watch” status (five or more cases) and the others have “open” status.

The Government of Alberta school outbreak map can be found at https://bit.ly/2FeS3FR. It currently identifies schools with two or more confirmed cases.

When a single case is confirmed to have been present at a school while infectious, and any time an outbreak of two or more cases is declared, all parents and guardians will receive a letter from AHS through their school informing them of the situation, the actions being taken and steps that will follow.

South Zone Information – 1,810 total cases

45 active, 14 new, 5 recoveries

1,740 people (about 97 per cent of confirmed south zone cases) have recovered from Covid-19.

Twenty-five people have died since the onset of the pandemic in March.

One person is currently hospitalized and is in intensive care.

There are no public outbreaks noted in the south zone.

The County of 40 Mile is under “watch” status with 11 active cases in a population of 6, 443 (equivalent to 170.7 in 100,000). Gathering restrictions and public health orders are in place but no further health measures have been put in place.

Community Breakdown for Monday, Sept. 21

Data is up-to-date as of midnight Sept. 20

* Indicates a change in statistics since the last report on Sept. 18

Pincher Creek Region (27 total) – 1 active, 25 recovered, 1 death
* 1 new active

Crowsnest Pass (2 total) – 0 active, 2 recovered

Fort Macleod (33 total) – 0 active, 30 recovered, 3 deaths

Cardston County/Kainai (105 total) – 3 active, 97 recovered, 5 deaths
* 1 new recovery

I.D. Waterton (0)

Lethbridge (169 total) – 4 active, 163 recovered, 2 deaths
* 2 new recoveries

Lethbridge County (45 total) – 7 active, 38 recovered
* 1 new active, 1 new recovery

County of Warner (62 total) – 1 active, 60 recovered, 1 death
* 1 new recovery

MD of Taber (42 total) – 3 active, 39 recovered
* 2 new active

City of Brooks (1,132 total) – 6 active, 1,117 recovered, 9 deaths
* 2 new active, 1 recovery reverted to active

County of Newell (32 total) – 0 active, 30 recovered, 2 deaths

County of Forty Mile (35 total) – 11 active, 24 recovered
* 6 new active, 1 new recovery

Cypress County (31 total) – 0 active, 31 recovered

Medicine Hat (81 total) – 9 active, 70 recovered, 2 deaths
* 2 new active

Oyen (13 total) – 0 active, 13 recovered

*** Pincher Creek Region includes the Town of Pincher Creek; MD of Pincher Creek and its hamlets of Beaver Mines, Lowland Heights, Lundbreck, Pincher Station and Twin Butte; the Village of Cowley and Piikani Nation.

All Covid-positive cases are followed up urgently by Alberta Health Services. If you have a positive test, you will be contacted directly by AHS. The Communicable Disease Control team does confidential contact tracing and follows stringent guidelines to determine who is considered a close contact. Those people will be contacted directly.

If you have a positive test, you are not expected to do your own contact tracing and are discouraged from doing so as many factors determine who is considered to be a close contact.

If you have not been contacted by AHS, you are not considered to be a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case.

School classifications are “open,” “watch,” and “enhanced.”

Open – No schools in this area have outbreaks of five or more cases. Schools remain open under Scenario 1, with near-normal operations with some public health measures. Parents may have received an alert from their school. AHS may be working with local schools, but any additional measures are localized and targeted.

Watch – School outbreak declared with five or more cases where disease could have been acquired or transmitted in the school. Schools remain open under Scenario 1 with the province monitoring risk and working with the school, school authority and AHS. Additional public health measures may be in the place within a school to control the spread.

Enhanced – Risk levels require enhanced measures to control the spread at a school or school authority level. Schools may be moved to Scenario 2 (in-school classes partially operating) or Scenario 3 (at-home learning).

Residents are to continue following all public health orders and gathering restrictions:

• Minimum mandatory isolation for 14 days for anyone who is a close contact of someone with Covid-19, or who return to, or entered Alberta from outside of Canada
• Minimum mandatory isolation for 10 days for anyone who has a confirmed case of Covid-19 or symptoms that are not related to a pre-existing illness or health condition: cough, fever, shortness or breath, runny nose or sore throat
• Gatherings are limited to 50 people for indoor social events (such as weddings and funerals), 100 for outdoor social events and indoor seated/audience events, and 200 for audience-type community outdoor events.
• No additional measures are currently in place but people are to continue maintaining physical distancing of two metres from people outside of one’s own household or cohort and to continue practising good hand hygiene.
• The province’s relaunch status map can be viewed at COVID-19 relaunch status map | alberta.ca

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Statistical updates will be provided on weekdays and paused on weekends and holidays to coincide with AHS reporting. Should something urgent happen on a weekend or holiday, a special report will be released.