There are now 25 active cases of COVID-19 in the City of Grande Prairie as of October 7 (Photo: Government of Alberta)

By Shaun Penner

COVID-19 UPDATE

Seven new COVID-19 cases in City of Grande Prairie, 364 in Alberta

Oct 8, 2020 | 3:54 PM

Alberta added 364 new cases of COVID-19, while there were seven new cases identified in the City of Grande Prairie on Wednesday.

The Swan City now has 25 active cases, as one more case moved to recovered. There was also one new case reported in the County of Grande Prairie on Wednesday, where there are five active cases.

Updated case totals among Peace Region municipalities as of the end of day October 7 are as follows:

• City of Grande Prairie: 122 cases (25 active, 95 recovered, two deaths)
• County of Grande Prairie: 65 cases (five active, 60 recovered)
• M.D. of Greenview: 16 cases (one active, 14 recovered, one death)
• Birch Hills County: Three cases (all recovered)
• M.D. of Spirit River: 11 cases (all recovered)
• Saddle Hills County: Two cases (one active, one recovered)
• M.D. of Smoky River: 74 cases (one active, 63 recovered, ten deaths)
• Big Lakes County: 48 cases (43 recovered, five deaths)
• M.D. of Lesser Slave River: 19 cases (two active, 16 recovered, one death)
• M.D. of Peace: 26 cases (two active, 24 recovered)
• M.D. of Fairview: 16 cases (all recovered)
• Clear Hills County: 91 cases (four active, 86 recovered, one death)
• Northern Sunrise County: Nine cases (all recovered)
• County of Northern Lights: 56 cases (one active, 55 recovered)
• Mackenzie County: 414 cases (9 active, 392 recovered, 13 deaths)

Active cases in Alberta jumped above 2,000 on Wednesday to 2,097. A majority of those cases have been identified in the Edmonton Zone, which now has 1,251 active cases (276 new cases on Wednesday). With that, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, says she is issuing some voluntary measures that should be taken in the Capital Region:

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1. All family and social gatherings should be limited to no more than 15 people
2. Masks should be worn at all times in workspaces, except when people are alone
3. Cohorts be limited to no more than three (i.e. household, school and one social/sport/group cohort).

Though these voluntary measures are focused on Edmonton now, Dr. Hinshaw says all Albertans should take similar precautions, and not become complacent about COVID-19.

“We must all take precautions to limit the virus’ spread to our friends, family and loved ones. I especially caution Albertans against planning large get-togethers this weekend. Now is not the time to be gathering in large groups, travelling long distances for the holiday, or sharing food or utensils with people outside your cohort.”

Hospitalizations in the Edmonton and Calgary zones also increased on Wednesday. In Alberta, there are now 77 people in hospital (11 more than Tuesday), 13 of whom are in ICU. There was no change in the North Zone over the previous 24 hours, as seven people are in hospital and no one is in intensive care with COVID-19.

Wednesday’s increase in case numbers comes after 16,408 tests were processed. In the North Zone, 107,826 people have been tested since March.

There were also two more fatalities linked to COVID-19 in Alberta, both at the Foothills Hospital in Calgary. A total of 283 Albertans have now died from complications related to COVID-19.