There are 17 active cases of COVID-19 in the City of Grande Prairie as of August 19 (Photo: Government of Alberta)

By Shaun Penner

COVID-19 UPDATE

Four new COVID-19 cases in City of Grande Prairie, three recoveries

Aug 20, 2020 | 4:07 PM

Alberta added 103 new cases of COVID-19 for August 19, while there were four new cases identified in the City of Grande Prairie.

Active cases in the Swan City only went up by one, to 17, as there were three more recoveries reported by Alberta Health. There was also one new case added in the County of Grande Prairie, bringing its active case total to 13.

Updated case numbers among Peace Region municipalities as of the end of day August 19 are as follows:

• City of Grande Prairie: 59 cases (17 active, 42 recovered)
• County of Grande Prairie: 36 cases (13 active, 23 recovered)
• M.D. of Greenview: Eight cases (Seven recovered, one death)
• Birch Hills County: Three cases (One active, two recovered)
• M.D. of Spirit River: Three cases (All recovered)
• M.D. of Smoky River: 73 cases (63 recovered, ten deaths)
• Big Lakes County: 47 cases (42 recovered, five deaths)
• M.D. of Lesser Slave River: Five cases (All recovered)
• M.D. of Peace: 13 cases (Six active, seven recovered)
• M.D. of Fairview: Two Cases (Both recovered)
• Clear Hills County: 25 cases (One active, 24 recovered)
• Northern Sunrise County: Four cases (One active, four recovered)
• County of Northern Lights: 12 cases (Seven active, five recovered)
• Mackenzie County: 236 cases (41 active, 187 recovered, eight deaths)

There was one more death reported in Alberta to be linked to COVID-19, which came in the Mackenzie County area. There have now been eight deaths related to the novel coronavirus in the area that includes High Level and La Crete, while 228 Albertans have now died.

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Active case totals in the province dropped to 1,084 for the end of day Wednesday, as recoveries rose by 126 to 11,292.

Hospitalizations decreased by five to 43 in Alberta as of August 19, with ICU admissions holding at 12. Hospitalizations and ICU admissions also held firm in the North Zone, at nine and three respectively.

Thursday’s rise in new cases come after 9,281 tests were processed at the provincial lab on Wednesday. There have now been 855,968 tests processed on 690,643 Albertans as of August 19. A total of 58,612 people from the North Zone have been tested, an increase of 673 from the day prior.

In Thursday’s COVID-19 update, Chief Medical Officer of Health in Alberta, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said she is growing concerned with the level of shame that is being reported by Alberta Health Services contact tracers from those who test positive with COVID-19, and their close contacts.

She says that might be leading many people to try to hide or deny feeling ill.

“It can be triggered by anger and judgement from others, or by an individuals own beliefs about what has happened,” said Hinshaw. “The more that COVID drives shame, the harder it will be to prevent, as people will be less willing to be forthcoming about their symptoms, less willing to be tested, and less willing to be honest with contact tracers about their activities.”

Hinshaw added that many of the cases they are investigating come from a “series of unfortunate events”. She gave the example of herself not always remembering to wash her hands before opening a door.

“We all make mistakes. We are all trying the best we can to follow the rules as much as possible. But one slip at the wrong time and place can lead to transmission.

“We must be compassionate with those who test positive. We must support those who have even mild symptoms to stay home and away from others, without shame. Our success depends on this.”