Alberta recorded 277 new cases of COVID-19 Friday and one additional death related to the disease.
The person who died was a woman in her 80s, linked to the outbreak at Shepherd’s Care Millwoods Long Term Care Centre in south Edmonton, according to Alberta Health.
There were 80 cases of COVID-19 linked to the outbreak at the long-term care centre, according to an update Friday afternoon from Shepherd’s Care. Of the cases, 53 were in residents and 27 were in staff members.
Seven of the 53 residents with COVID-19 have died, the Shepherd’s Care Foundation reported Friday. That’s an increase of two deaths since Thursday. The second death wasn’t reported by Alberta Health on Friday, but the health ministry has previously said there is often a delay between the time the death happens and when it’s reported by Alberta Health.
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Mill Woods care centre COVID-19 outbreak swells to 68 cases
As of Friday afternoon, there were 2,225 active cases of COVID-19 in Alberta, 1,329 of which were in the Edmonton zone. Of the 277 new cases reported Friday, 157 — or nearly 57 per cent — were in the Edmonton zone.
On Thursday, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw came out with new voluntary public health restrictions for people living in the Edmonton zone in hopes of reducing transmission of the coronavirus.
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Alberta records highest daily COVID-19 case count; Edmonton sees new voluntary restrictions
The recommendations include limiting indoor family and private social gatherings to no more than 15 people, wearing masks in all indoor work settings, except for when a person is alone in a workspace such as a cubicle or an office, or if there is a barrier in place and limit their cohorts to no more than three separate cohorts: the core household, a school cohort and no more than one social, sport or other group cohort.
Misericordia Community Hospital outbreaks
Another outbreak of COVID-19 was reported at Edmonton’s Misericordia Community Hospital on Friday. Covenant Health, which operates the hospital, said it is now investigating three outbreaks at the hospital in west Edmonton.
Nine patients and five staff had tested positive for COVID-19 at the hospital as of Friday. That’s an increase from eight patients and three health-care workers linked to two outbreaks reported Thursday.
READ MORE: COVID-19 outbreaks declared on 2 units at Edmonton’s Misericordia Community Hospital
As of Friday, 86 Albertans were in the hospital with COVID-19, 11 of whom were being treated in intensive care.
While one additional death was reported Friday, the provincial death toll from COVID-19 dropped by two to 282. Alberta Health said that was because two deaths previously reported as COVID-19-related have been determined post-mortem not to be COVID-related.