What you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Tuesday, August 18 - Action News
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What you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Tuesday, August 18

Alberta recorded 89 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, bringing the total active cases to 1,169.

The entire city of Edmonton is under a COVID-19 watch

More than 3,000 Calgary Catholic students have registered for online learning this upcoming school year. (Halfpoint/Shutterstock)

The latest:

  • Alberta recorded 89 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, bringing the total active cases to 1,169.
  • The entire city of Edmonton is now under a COVID-19 watch, as it has 56 cases for every 100,000 people.
  • Pharmacies owned by Loblaws, including Shoppers Drug Mart and Superstore,will offer asymptomatic COVID-19 tests at all 234 locations across the province after Sept. 1.
  • Alberta Health Services confirmed Monday it is investigating after 15cases were linked to the Bible Pentecostal Church in Edmonton.
  • TheMisericordia Community Hospital in Edmonton gave an update Monday on its plans as it moves through a phased reopening that began on Friday.
  • Amidst the pandemic,CBC reported Tuesday,the federal Liberal government is seeking to prorogue Parliament until October. As well, Chrystia Freeland will become Canada's new finance minister, becoming the first woman to take on the powerful role,after Bill Morneaustepped down late Monday.
  • Town council in Okotoks has mandated masks be worn in all indoor municipal spaces effective Aug.24.
  • Calgary Transit is moving tofull capacity on all CTrains and buses, citing a high compliance with the mandatory masking rule.
  • Four Calgary flights are on a list issued by theB.C. Centre for Disease Control forpossible COVID-19 exposures.
  • The Calgary Stampeders and theirEdmonton counterparts would have to wait until next year to resume their rivalry. The CFL said Monday it had cancelled the 2020 season after its request for financial help from the federal government was turned down.
  • Learn about where you need to wear a mask around the province.

What you need to know today in Alberta:

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said Tuesdaythat the best way to prepare for a safe re-entry to schools is to keep community transmission low.

"Together we can minimize the risk to students and staff in schools and help our children regain this part of their normal educational and social development. For all of us, taking precautions is part of living in the new normal of COVID-19, and as always we are all in this together," she said.

Thousands of kids have been registered for the Calgary Catholic School District's online school this fall and the district expects that number could nearly double before registration closes on Friday.

As Edmonton'sMisericordia Community Hospital reopens following the end of a COVID-19 outbreak, officials say they are taking lessonsfrom the experience in how to deal with the disease in Alberta. The hospital closed its doors to incoming patients on July 8 in response to a "full-facility outbreak."

Alberta Health Services is investigating after 15confirmed cases were linked to the Bible Pentecostal Church in Edmonton. Anyone who attended the churchbetween July 26 and Aug.12, or who has been in close contact with someone who did, should book a COVID-19 test online and continue to monitor for symptoms, Sherene Khawa, an assistant communications director with the province, said in an email.

On Friday, the province said there had been an outbreak of COVID-19 been declared at Cargill's"case ready" facility in northeast Calgary. It's a"further processing" facility that provides retail meat products for supermarkets across Western Canada.

Two other outbreaks were also declared by the province on Friday: five cases are now linked totheFledglings Educare Centre in Calgary, and 13 cases are linked to a private gathering.

On Monday, B.C. health officials issued a public exposure alert for northeast B.C. after 17people in thatregion tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a faith-based event inDeadwood, Alta., about 430 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. Another 15 people in Alberta have tested positive.

(CBC)

The president of the Edmonton Football Team says the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season won't have a significant effect on the franchise's plans to rebrand.

Labour market watchers say the pandemic is going to have long-term repercussions on hiring trendseven after the pandemic is over as the labour market overflows with people ready to start working again.

CBCNews hascurated a list of towns and cities in theprovince, outlining theirpolicies on masks. We'll try to keepitupdatedregularly.

Here's a regional breakdown of active casesacross the province as of Tuesday:

  • Edmonton zone:636 active cases.
  • Calgary zone:295active cases.
  • North zone:107active cases.
  • Central zone:87active cases.
  • South zone:39active cases.
  • Unknown:5active cases.
(CBC)

What you need to know today in Canada:

As of 5a.m. ET on Tuesday,Canada had 122,872 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 109,059 of those as recovered or resolved. ACBC News tallyof deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 9,070.

Chrystia Freeland will become Canada's new finance minister, the first woman to take on the powerful role. Freeland, the former foreign affairs minister, was already also deputy prime minister and intergovernmental affairs minister.

The pandemic threatens to wipe out decades of progress for working mothers, experts warn.A report last month fromRBC Economicscalled the hit on women's employment "unprecedented," with 1.5 million women in Canada losing their jobs in the first two months of the pandemic.

A doctor accused of being at the centre of the COVID-19 outbreak in New Brunswick's Campbellton region in May that claimed two lives, infecteddozens and forced that northern part of the provinceback into the orange phase ofrecoveryis facing a charge under the provincial Emergency Measures Act.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Chrystia Freeland speaks during a news conference on Parliament Hill, Monday, May 11, 2020 in Ottawa. (Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press)

Self-assessment and supports:

Alberta Health Services has an online self-assessment tool that you can use to determine if you have symptoms of COVID-19, but testing is open to anyone, even without symptoms.

The province says Albertans who have returned to Canada from other countries must self-isolate. Unless your situation is critical and requires a call to 911, Albertans are advised to call Health Link at 811 before visiting a physician, hospital or other health-care facility.

If you have symptoms, even mild, you are to self-isolate for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms, until the symptoms have disappeared.

You can find Alberta Health Services' latest coronavirus updates here.

The province also operates a confidential mental health support line at 1-877-303-2642 and addiction help line at 1-866-332-2322, both available 24 hours a day.

Online resources are available for advice on handling stressful situations and ways to talk with children.

There is a 24-hour family violence information line at 310-1818 to get anonymous help in more than 170 languages, and Alberta's One Line for Sexual Violence is available at 1-866-403-8000, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.