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Someone in the community tests positive for COVID-19. What happens next?
There have been eight confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Jasper with six recoveries and one death. For patient privacy reasons, details about whether these cases are travel related or suspected to be spread in the community has not been made public.
Initially, most of Alberta鈥檚 cases were people who had been away internationally and were infected with COVID-19 while away - but that鈥檚 changing over time.
As weeks go by, Alberta is seeing more suspected community spread cases, where the patient has no known connection to a travel-related case, and there are now more than 400 of them.
鈥淭racking every positive result is a key tool in flattening the curve,鈥� said Dr. Kathryn Koliaska, a Medical Officer of Health for Alberta.
This tracking, called contact tracing, is done for every person who test positive for COVID-19. It鈥檚 a common practice in public health but the pandemic has ramped up operations and there are now 300 nurses and medical students calling Albertans every day of the week.
As soon as a COVID-19 test comes back positive, a member of the team calls the infected person to find out exactly where they have been and who they might have been in contact with.
鈥淲e do the interview and get a list of people who then get a phone call,鈥� said Koliaska.
鈥淒epending on the circumstances, situation and threat level, it鈥檚 quite an exercise.鈥�
Koliaska said patients are asked very specific questions about where they went, what they did, how long they were there, who and what they came into contact with, and what their symptoms were.
If a patient visited a public place like a grocery store or post office while infected, Alberta Health Services could contact those businesses for further investigation.
鈥淚t鈥檚 case by case,鈥� said Koliaska.
鈥淗ow long was the line-up and how close were you standing to people? Specific pieces really matter.鈥�
Koliaska said COVID-19 spreading person to person is becoming more common as this pandemic is evolving and the best way to protect yourself is to follow public health orders and practice physical distancing.
Don鈥檛 gather in groups, wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds, and try to not touch your face.
It is now mandatory to isolate for 10 days if you have symptoms, or for 14 days if you were exposed to a confirmed COVID-19 case or returned from international travel.
If you think you have COVID-19 call 811 or take Alberta Health鈥檚 self-assessment online at . COVID-19 testing is now available to anyone with symptoms including cough, fever, shortness of breath, runny nose or sore throat but only available through 811.
