Fuchsia Dragon | [email protected]
Since May 16, Jasper has had zero active cases of COVID-19.
But elsewhere in the province, the numbers have slowly crept up over the past few weeks.
120 new cases were reported yesterday (Thursday, July 18), the first time since May 2 that 100 new cases were identified in one day.
These new cases bring the provincial total to 9,114 with 807 still active across the province.
Of those, 362 active cases are in the Calgary zone and 217 are in the Edmonton zone.
A total of 8,142 Albertans have recovered from COVID-19 and 165 have died, 119 of whom have been residents of continuing care facilities.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said she was concerned about the number of new cases - especially the increase of cases in 20- to 39-year-olds
"While a few months ago new cases had about six close contacts, many now have upwards of 15 to 20 contacts during their infectious period." she said.
"This is a reflection of many people feeling tired of restrictions, they don't want to be held back any more from interacting socially with their friends and doing things they enjoy."
Hinshaw encouraged Albertans to be responsible and physically distance at beaches, on hiking trails and at other popular hotspots - and to have a back-up plan for if the space is full when you arrive.
"In taking these steps you are protecting everyone around you including those who are at risk of severe outcomes of the virus," she said, recommending Albertans treat all those around them as someone they know and love who is at high risk.
"Be wise, be safe and let's look all out for other," she said.
Update @ 3:40 p.m. :
A further 105 cases were announced today (July 17), bringing the provincial total to 9,219.
Of those cases, 859 are active, 8,193 people have recovered and 167 died.
Alberta Health data shows 7,223 of the total cases had known exposure, 690 were travel related and 1,122 had unknown exposure.
