Fort McMurray’s active total of COVID-19 is slightly decreasing.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, announced on Monday 1,735 across the province.

This raises the provincial total to 70,301 with 20,067 currently active. There are also 609 Albertans in the hospital for the virus, 108 of which are in ICUs.

Locally, Fort McMurray added 19 new cases and 20 additional recoveries which lowers the active total to 225.

The rural areas saw one new case and one recovery which keeps the total of active cases at eight.

In total, 761 individuals across the RMWB – 659 in Fort McMurray and 102 in the rural areas – have recovered.

They are among the 49,603 who’ve recovered across the province. This represents over 70 per cent of reported cases.

There were also 16 new deaths from COVID-19 in Alberta over the past day – raising the total to 631.

To date, two individuals in Fort McMurray have died as a result of the virus.

Possible New Restrictions

Dr. Hinshaw also noted her team will be making more recommendations to the province around additional measures.

The provincial totals continue to remain high despite the temporary restrictions coming in under two weeks ago.

She added the numbers would most likely be much higher without the measures, but they aren’t seeing the decrease they were hoping for.

Hinshaw didn’t explain what recommendations they’ll be making.

The provincial government is slated to discuss extending the current restrictions or adding additional ones in the coming days as they were only scheduled to last for three weeks.

School Update

An individual with ties to cole Dickinsfield has tested positive for the virus.

Those deemed a close contact have or will be contacted by Alberta Health Services where they’ll be asked to self-isolate.

The school is remaining open at this time.