The province is considering bringing back more COVID-19 restrictions as the number of cases continues to rise across Alberta.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, announced on Thursday there have been around 800 new cases over the past 24 hours.
This is the highest daily total across the province since the pandemic started in mid-March.
Due to technical difficulties, the province wasn’t able to update their location map to show the latest updates in Fort McMurray and the rural areas.
Hinshaw says they’re very concerned as this rise has nothing to do with Halloween.
“I’m very concerned that we could see potentially higher numbers in the days ahead if those Halloween gatherings, that we were strongly encouraging not to happen, went ahead and there were infectious people there.”
The main reason for the spike, especially in Edmonton and Calgary, seems to be people spreading the virus when they know they’re symptomatic.
Hinshaw notes too many people are leaving their homes when they have symptoms.
“I’m calling on Albertans to please stop all activities if you have any symptoms, by leaving your home for any reason other than getting tested or seeking healthcare you’re putting others at risk and potentially spreading the virus so one case can lead to many.”
Over the next couple of days, they plan on viewing the numbers to see if they continue to rise. If so, there’s a possibility this could lead to more restrictions across the province.
“Unless our numbers decline dramatically in the next few days, we will have to consider additional measures to bring COVID numbers down in order to protect our health system,” added Hinshaw.
She didn’t specify what restrictions could be brought in, however, she mentioned a full lockdown is not off the board.