COVID-19 UPDATE – February 23, 2021 -

As of February 23, Alberta Health confirmed 267 new cases in Alberta since February 22.

There are 64 new cases in the North Zone since February 22.

There has been 1 death recorded in the North Zone since February 22.

10,406 cases have recovered in the North Zone which holds at 92% of the cases.

____________________________________________________________________________

Variant cases

Alberta is monitoring for variant strains of COVID-19 that have a higher infection rate. These are total cases since December 15, 2020.

As of February 23:

Location	B.1.1.7 (UK variant)	B.1.351 (South African variant)	Total
In Alberta	294 (12 on Feb. 22)	7	301
Calgary Zone	117	5	122
Edmonton Zone	112	2	114
Central Zone	65	0	65
South Zone	0	0	0
North Zone	0	0	0

——————————————————————————————————————

Current Outbreaks in the North Zone

Locations of outbreaks in acute care and continuing care facilities are reported publicly when there are 2 or more cases, indicating that a transmission within the facility has occurred.

Outbreaks at other facilities or in the community are reported publicly when there are 5 or more cases.

Outbreaks are declared over when 4 weeks have passed with no new cases, so not all outbreaks listed below have current transmission happening.

Acute care facilities

Athabasca Healthcare Centre
Boyle Healthcare Centre
Queen Elizabeth II Hospital, Grande Prairie
William J. Cadzow – Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre

Long term care facilities

Extendicare Bonnyville
Extendicare Mayerthorpe
Grande Prairie Care Centre
William J. Cadzow – Lac La Biche Healthcare Centre, Auxiliary

Supportive living/home living sites

Bar-V-Nook Manor, Smoky Lake
Heritage Lodge, Grande Prairie
Keekenow Senior Facility, Wabasca
Points West Living, Peace River
Prairie Lake Supportive Living, Grande Prairie
Signature Support Services, Grande Prairie
Stone Brook Lodge, Grimshaw

Other facilities and settings

Cenovus Foster Creek, Cold Lake
CNRL Albian, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
CNRL Horizon, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
Edson Continuing Care Centre
Imperial Oil, Cold Lake
Lakeland Out of the Elements Shelter, Lac La Biche
Legacy Childcare, Slave Lake
Kearl Lake work site, Fort Mckay
Knowledge Tree Childcare Centre, Valleyview
McCullough Centre, Gunn
Millar Western Forest Products, Whitecourt
North American Construction Group, Fort McMurray
Ovintiv Canada Pipestone, Wembley
Peace River Correctional Centre
Private group home, Grande Prairie
Rotary House, Grande Prairie
Shell Gold Creek, Grande Prairie
Sugarplum Tree Daycare, Peace River
Suncor base plant, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
Suncor Fort Hills, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
Syncrude Aurora, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
Syncrude Mildred Lake site, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
Tolko Industries, High Level
Walmart, Grande Prairie
YMCA Eagle Ridge child care, Fort McMurray

—————————————————————————————————————-

COVID-19 school status

School status classification

Updated reporting took effect January 18, 2021.

Open

No school status to report.
The school continues near normal operations with public health measures in place.

Alert (1 to 4 cases)

Parents are notified by their child’s school when a single confirmed case and when multiple confirmed cases are identified within the school.
Schools with 2 or more cases are reported on the map.
When 2 or more confirmed cases are identified within the school, public health officials initiate an investigation to monitor risk level and work with the school.
After the first 2 cases within 14 days are identified, additional cases in the school will be included in the investigation as long as there is less than 28 days between subsequent cases.
The alert investigation is considered over when there have been no new confirmed cases in the school for 28 days.

Outbreak (5 to 9 cases) and (10+ cases)

An outbreak is reported when 5 or more cases are confirmed in an investigation, where the disease could have been acquired or transmitted in the school.
Outbreaks are reported on the map as 5 to 9 cases or 10+ cases.
Risk monitoring continues. Additional public health measures may be required. The school may move to scenario 2 (partial in-person classes) or scenario 3 (at-home learning).
The outbreak investigation is considered over when there have been no new confirmed cases in the school for 28 days.

Parents and staff are notified by letter as soon as a case is identified. The charts may be updated up to 24 hours later.

Dr. Hinshaw reported 231 schools with active alerts and outbreaks (10% of the schools in Alberta). There is a total of 846 combined cases since Jan 11. There are 250 entries on the School Status Map.

There are 85 regions/cities/towns on the list within Alberta with no school status to report.

Open (no status to report) / Alert (2 to 4 cases) / Outbreak (5 to 9 cases and 10+ cases)

There are 15 ALERTS in the North Zone.

There are 7 OUTBREAKS (5-9 cases) reported in the North Zone.

There are 2 OUTBREAKS (10+ cases) reported in the North Zone.

For definitions of terminology please click here.

——————————————————————————————————————

Regions are defined by rural municipalities, city boundaries, and urban service areas; smaller regions (i.e. towns, villages, and reserves) are incorporated into the corresponding rural area. Cases without a postal code or incorrect postal codes are not included. Location information missing/invalid for: 306 case(s).

All Zones are now on the Regional Active List.

The city of Grande Prairie moves up to a total of 1,535 cases and 232 active. This makes them the area in the North Zone with the highest active cases.

Mackenzie County (Northwest corner of Alberta:High Level, Fort Vermillion, La Crete, Rainbow Lake) moves up to a total of 717 cases and 133 active cases.

Smoky Lake County (Smoky Lake, Vilna, Waskatenau, Bellis, Edwand, Spedden, Warspite, Buffalo Lake Métis Settlement, Kikino Métis Settlement, Anning, Birchland Resort, Bonnie Lake Resort, Cache Lake, Cossack, Downing, Hamlin, Lobstick Settlement, Mons Lake, North Kotzman, Parkview Beach, Sprucefield, Two Lakes, Victoria Settlement (also Fort Victoria), Wahstao, Wasel, Whiteman Beach) moves up to a total of 641 cases and 82 active.

The Municipal District of Greenview NO. 16 (Fox Creek, Valleyview, Little Smoky, Debolt, Ridgevalley, Crooked Creek, Sunset House) moves up to a total of 369 cases and 54 active.

The Municipal District of Peace NO. 135 (Peace River, Grimshaw, Berwyn, Brownvale) moves up to a total of 419 cases and 45 active.

The County of Grande Prairie No. 1 (Beaverlodge, Sexsmith, Wembley, Hythe, Bezanson, Clairmont, La Glace, Teepee Creek, Horse Lakes Indian reserve 152B, Kleskun Hill, Lake Saskatoon, Pipestone Creek, Richmond Hill Estates, Sandy Ridge Estates, Valhalla, Webster) moves up to a total of 421 cases and 43 active cases.

Municipal District of Opportunity No. 17 (Calling Lake, Red Earth Creek, Sandy Lake or Pelican Mountain, Wabasca (also known as Wabasca-Desmarais), Calling River, Chipewyan Lake, Peerless Lake, Trout Lake) moves up to a total of 428 cases and 42 active.

The city of Cold Lake moves up to a total of 468 cases and 36 active.

County of St. Paul No. 19 (Elk Point, St. Paul, Horseshoe Bay, Ashmont, Heinsburg, Lottie Lake, St. Edouard, St. Vincent, Abilene, Angle Lake, Bayview Beach, Boyne Lake, Clarksville, Ferguson Flats, Frog Lake, Glen On The Lake, Lac Canard, McLeod Beach, Northern Valley, Owlseye Lake, Primrose, St. Paul Beach, Sunset Beach) moves up to a total of 653 cases and 35 active.

The Municipal District of Bonnyville NO. 87 (Bonnyville, Cherry Grove, Fort Kent, Iron River, La Corey, Therien, Elizabeth Metis Settlement, Fishing Lake Metis Settlement, Indian reserve:Cold Lake 149) moves up to a total of 480 cases and down to 34 active.

The city of Fort McMurray moves up to a total of 1,745 cases and down to 34 active.

Municipal District of Lesser Slave River No. 124 (Slave Lake, Canyon Creek, Widewater, Chisholm, Marten Beach, Smith, Wagner, Hondo, Mitsue) moves up to a total of 245 cases and 27 active.

Northern Sunrise County (Nampa, Cadotte Lake, Little Buffalo, Marie Reine, Reno,St. Isidore, Harmon Valley) moves up to a total of 236 cases and 13 active.

La La Biche moves up to a total of 341 cases and down to 12 active.

Big Lakes County (High Prairie, Swan Hills, Enilda, Faust, Grouard or Grouard Mission, Joussard, Kinuso, East Prairie Métis Settlement, Gift Lake Métis Settlement, Peavine Métis Settlement, Driftpile First Nation, Kapawe’no, Sucker Creek First Nation, Swan River First Nation, Big Prairie, Gilwood, Heart River, Nine Mile Point, Prairie Echo, Salt Prairie,Triangle) holds with a total of 460 cases and down to 11 active.

The County Of Northern Lights (Manning, Deadwood,Paddle Prairie Metis Settlement, Chinook Valley, Clear Hills, Hotchkiss, Keg River, Weberville, Carcajou,Twin Lakes) moves up to 84 cases and 10 active.

The town of Whitecourt moves up to a total of 149 cases and down to 8 active.

Lac Ste Anne County (Mayerthorpe, Onoway, Alberta Beach, Sangudo) removes a cases for a total of 427 cases and moves up to 5 active.

Athabasca County (Athabasca, Boyle, Mewatha Beach, Sunset Beach, Breynat, Caslan, Grassland, Meanook, Wandering River, Amber Valley, Athabasca Landing Settlement, Baptiste Lake, Coolidge, Glenshaw, Lincoln, Meadowbrook, Spruce Valley, White Gull) holds with a total of 195 cases and down to 3 active.

The Municipal District of Spirit River No. 133 (Spirit River, Rycroft) moves up to a total of 47 cases and holds with 2 active.

The municipality of Jasper holds with a total of 188 cases and down to 2 active cases.

Westlock County (Westlock, Clyde, Larkspur, Busby, Dapp, Fawcett, Jarvie, Pibroch, Vimy, Analta, Anton Lake, Eastburg, Fawn Lake, Halfway Lake, Pembina Heights, Regal Park, Shoal Creek, Waugh) holds with a total of 175 cases and down to 2 active.

Thorhild County (Egremont, Long Lake, Radway, Thorhild, Alpen, Clearbrook, Danube, Darling, Hollow Lake, Northbrook, Pinebrook, Val Soucy, Weasel Creek, Woodgrove) moves up to a total of 47 cases and 2 active.

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (Surrounding Fort McMurray but does not include it, Anzac, Conklin, Fort Chipewyan, Fort McKay, Draper, Mariana Lake) holds with a total of 132 cases and down to 2 active.

The Municipal District of Fairview No. 136 (Fairview, Bluesky, Whitelaw, Dunvegan, Erin Lodge, Friedenstal, Highland Park, Lothrop, Vanrena,Waterhole) holds with a total of 57 cases and 1 active.

Birch Hills County (Eaglesham, Peoria, Tangent, Wanham, Watino, Belloy, Codesa, Heart Valley) holds with a total of 12 cases and down to 1 active.

Municipal District of Smoky River (Falher, McLennan, Girouxville, Donnelly, Guy, Jean Cote, Kathleen, Winagami) holds with a total of 110 cases and 1 active.

Yellowhead County (Edson, Hinton, Marlboro, Evansburg, Niton Junction, Wildwood) removes 2 cases for a total of 313 cases and down to 1 active.

The town of Hinton removes 3 cases for a total of 109 cases and down to 1 active.

County of Barrhead No. 11 (Barrhead, Campsie, Manola, Neerlandia,Thunder Lake, Belvedere, Bloomsbury, Cam-Bar Estates, Camp Creek, Campsie Cove, Dunstable, Düsseldorf, Freedom, Gardenview, Greendale Subdivision, Highridge, Holmes Crossing, Idle Hours, Lawton, Lightning Bay, Lunnford, Mahar Subdivision, Meadowview, Mellowdale, Moonlight Bay Estates, Moose Wallow, Mosside, Mystery Lake, Naples, Park La Nonne, Roselea, Sion, Stewartfield, Summerlea, Tiger Lily, Vega) removes 1 case for a total of 57 cases and down to 0 active.

Out of 38 municipalities that comprise the North Zone there are no active cases in 9 municipalities.

There are 131,603 reported cases in Alberta, and 1,853 deaths in Alberta (956 in Edmonton zone, 571 in Calgary Zone, 134 in North Zone, 104 in the Central Zone, 88 in the South Zone). Of the 131,603 cases, 326 are in the hospital including 51 in ICU (Intensive Care). 125,234 cases have recovered, which holds at 96% of the cases in Alberta. The Alberta Positivity Rate is 4.4%. 73,718 Albertans have been fully immunized with 2 doses.

There are 4,513 active cases in Alberta. Calgary:1,612, Edmonton:930, North:875, Central:745, South:350, Unknown:4.

There have been 10 new deaths recorded for Alberta since February 22, though Dr. Hinshaw reported 11. Of the 10 deaths: 1 in the North Zone, 2 in the South Zone, 2 in the Calgary Zone, and 5 in the Edmonton Zone.

—————————————————————————————————————–

Canada has 852,269 confirmed cases. There have been 21,762 deaths recorded. As of Feb. 23, Alberta has the fourth highest amount of active cases (4,516), behind British Columbia (4,733 – third), Quebec (7,880 -second) and Ontario (10,296 – first).

There have been 799,830 recovered cases in Canada and holds at 96% of the national population of cases.

The USA has 28,891,404 confirmed cases. There are 514,623 deaths recorded and 19,193,254 recovered cases, which moves up to 68%. 19,882,544 have received 2 doses of the vaccination.

There are 111,997,291 cases worldwide. There are a total of 2,481,668 deaths recorded worldwide. There are 82,407,381 cases recovered globally, which holds at 75%.

The top 5 highest ranked country of reported cases are (From highest to lowest): USA, India (11,016,434), Brazil (10,195,160), the UK (4,146,734), and Russia (4,142,126). No other country has reached the 4,000,000 mark. Canada holds at 22nd.

The highest death toll, after the US, Brazil (247,143), Mexico (180,536), India (156,463), and the UK (121,536). No other country has reached the 120,000 mark. Canada holds at 21st.

The top 5 highest countries in the world with recovered cases, from highest to lowest: after the US, India (10,712,665), Brazil (9,151,198), Russia (3,697,787), Turkey (2,534,996). All other countries are below 2,500,000 recovered cases. Canada holds at 18th.

———————————————————————————————

Enhanced measures at a glance

Some restrictions were lifted on February 8, 2021. If the numbers show a decrease in cases and hospitalizations after 3 weeks, further restrictions may be lifted.

———————————————————————————————–

Check Daily for more information on COVID-19 and local news. Mini-updates may occur between full updates and may only contain North Zone numbers and/or breaking news.

We are your community news. southpeacenews.com . Past updates can be found under the COVID-19 tab on our website. If there is information that you would like to see, please make a comment.