During a press conference on Monday, March 23, 2020,  Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health,  announced 42 new cases of COVID-19 in our province, which brings the total number of cases to 301.

Up to 24 of the total cases are related to community transmission, meaning they are not travel related. 

The Alberta government is changing its testing protocols when it comes to COVID-19, to focus on the population that is deemed most at risk.

Testing will be prioritized for the following individuals, If they are symptomatic:

  • People who are hospitalized with respiratory illness.

  • Residents of continuing care and other similar facilities.

  • People who returned from travelling abroad between March 8 and March 12 (before the self-isolation protocols were in place). 

  • Health-care workers with respiratory symptoms (this testing will begin later this week).

Anyone who has symptoms but does not fit into any of these categories should stay home and self-isolate for a minimum of 10 days from the start of their symptoms, or until their symptoms resolve, whichever is longer.

To promote mental health in the time of crisis, Alberta Health Services has launched a new text-based service to help Albertans ease stress or anxiety that they may be feeling from the COVID 19 pandemic.  Albertans can text COVID19Hope to 393939. In response, they will receive daily text messages of encouragement promoting healthy thinking and actions to help them manage their stress. To go to the Alberta Health Service website, click here.