For nearly 20 months we've gotten used to having bolder COVID health and safety measures imposed before holidays and special occasions.

Heading into our second pandemic Halloween, provincial leaders and health officials reiterated the messaging of limitations on the size of gatherings, social distancing, masking and hand hygiene.

For the second year, the province's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw asked Albertans to get creative with candy distribution to avoid high touch and we were reminded of the consequences of not adhering to the rules.

It's too soon to know what effects Halloween will have on Alberta's case count, and in terms of the current local numbers, we are seeing a mix. While the overall local case count is down, school numbers are up, leaving it hard to gauge exactly what direction we are heading in.

On Friday Cochrane was reporting 78 active COVID cases and as of Monday morning that number has dropped by 12 to 66. The active case count in Rocky View County has also dropped slightly over there weekend from 68 to 63.

Heading into the Halloween weekend, there were two Cochrane Schools listed on AHS' School Status Map under alert status, and two more have since been added.

Both Cochrane Christian Academy and Manachaban Middle School are currently reporting 2-4 Cases, and both Elizabeth Barrett Elementary School and Fireside School are listed under Alert status reporting 5-9 Cases.

Schools on the Stoney Nakoda First Nation have amped up measures in place today, due to a spike in COVID cases.

Effective immediately Nakoda Elementary has made a two-week shift to online learning, with in-person learning set to resume on November 15, 2021. Morley Community School will continue with learning in person, using the cohort schedule currently in place.

Nakoda Elementry is currently reporting over five cases within the school community. Drive-Thru rapid testing is available today at Wesley Lodge between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. for students attending Nakoda Elementary and Exshaw School.