Those who participated in anti-racism rallies in Alberta over the weekend should take the COVID-19 test, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health says.
That advice is for every protester, whether they are showing symptoms of disease or not, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Monday.
“The freedom to protest is a critical one, and yet we face a challenge in this time of pandemic, to do so without risking super-spreader events,” she said.
There were anti-racism demonstrations in Red Deer on Friday and Saturday. Hundreds were gathered in the city’s downtown core.
The province’s top doctor has reached out to some of the rally organizers in the province to talk about how future protests are to be structured to reduce the chance of spreading the virus.
Alberta confirmed 64 new COVID-19 cases Monday. That brings the number of active cases in the province to 355.
“I’m happy to report our rates of hospitalizations and other metrics remain stable, and our daily cases, while fluctuating somewhat, are not currently showing a large spike,” said Hinshaw.
As of Monday morning, Hinshaw has given the green light to the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames to practise in their home arenas.
The province confirmed three deaths Monday, which brings the virus deaths in Alberta t0 149. The deaths were outside of the central zone.
There are no active cases in the central zone. Confirmed cases in the local zone was at 87, and 86 of those are recovered, with one death reported earlier.
Forty-four people are in hospital in the province, of which six are in ICUs.
There was no update from the province Sunday. Monday’s numbers reflects figures from the past 48 hours (from late Saturday afternoon to Monday afternoon).
The city of Red Deer was at 35 recovered cases, with zero active.
Red Deer County is at 12 recovered, while Lacombe County is at three recovered.
The Town of Sylvan Lake is at two recovered cases, while the City of Lacombe is at two recovered.
On Saturday, the province recorded 40 new cases of the virus, followed by Friday’s seven.
mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com
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