Alberta has announced 112 deaths since December 23 bringing the total number of deaths from COVID-19 in the province to 1002. Today, Canada also crossed a grim milestone reporting over 15,000 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began.
Credit: Alberta.ca
Over the five-day period, the COVID-19 positivity rate in Alberta is between 6.4 and 9.6 per cent.
Premier Jason Kenney issued a statement Monday about the province passing the grim milestone of 1,000 deaths, calling it more than a statistic.
“It represents more than 1,000 mothers, wives, fathers, husbands – empty spaces around the table that can never be filled. Each one means that there is a family that is grieving, a friend who has lost someone they loved, a child who lost their parent, a partner who lost their true love,” Kenney said.
“To all those who are grieving, Alberta grieves with you. Words cannot ease the pain caused by this loss, and I know it seems unfair that public safety measures mean we cannot say a proper goodbye to those who mean so much to us. This is part of COVID-19’s heartbreaking cost. It is why we must all work together to support those who have lost someone and do all we can to spare others from experiencing this grief.”
Albert’s death rate is 20 per 100,000, while that of Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba and B.C are 95, 30, 47, 16 per 100,000 respectively.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw also announced Alberta has reported its first case of a new contagious new strain of the COVID-19 in someone who had recently arrived from the UK.
Hinshaw says fortunately, the person did everything they were supposed to upon arrival, staying isolated from others, and there is no evidence their illness has spread.
She says health officials in Alberta are working with the Public Health Agency of Canada to obtain a list of people who were sitting near the infected person on their flight to Alberta, but she believes the risk of transmission is low.
Ontario reported cases of the new variant over the weekend in a couple in Durham Region, east of Toronto, as well as someone in the Ottawa region, while officials in British Columbia reported a case on Vancouver Island.
Hinshaw did not say where in Alberta the person lives or what airports they passed through.
“We are going to be following up, specifically with individuals who were seated in close rows,” she told the news conference Monday.
“But again, we have looked at the situation and believe that the risk is very low.”
Canada’s public health agency has said while early data suggests the new variant may be more transmissible, there is no evidence it causes more severe symptoms or impacts the effectiveness of approved vaccines.
Canada previously announced a travel ban on all flights arriving from the U.K. until Jan. 6 in an effort to contain the variant.
More than 6000 Albertans have received the COVID-19 vaccine. No adverse events following immunization have been reported to Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services.
— With Files From The Canadian Press