The active total of COVID-19 cases in Fort McMurray is increasing.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, announced on Tuesday 1,460 across the province.
This raises the provincial total to 73,488 with 20,199 currently active. There are also 685 Albertans in the hospital for the virus, 121 of which are in ICUs.
Locally, Fort McMurray added 31 new cases and 13 additional recoveries which raises the active total to 240.
The rural areas didn’t see any new changes in the past 24 hours which keeps the total of active cases at eight.
In total, 798 individuals across the RMWB – 695 in Fort McMurray and 103 in the rural areas – have recovered.
They are among the 52,636 who’ve recovered across the province. This represents over 71 per cent of reported cases.
There were also 13 new deaths from COVID-19 in Alberta over the past day – raising the total to 653.
To date, two individuals in Fort McMurray have died as a result of the virus.
First Round of Vaccines
Alberta’s Health Minister Tyler Shandro also announced yesterday they will be providing the first round of vaccines next week.
Health Canada officially approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Wednesday with around 3,900 doses to be administered in the province by next Wednesday.
They’re still reviewing other potential vaccines including the one being developed by Moderna.
These doses will be given to doctors and nurses in hospitals and ICUs, respiratory therapists, and healthcare workers in continuing care homes. A second dose will be administered in around one month.
The second round of vaccines is expected to be ready by the end of the month.
The GoA is still focusing on first providing vaccines to residents and staff of long-term and designated supported living facilities, seniors over the age of 75, on-reserve First Nations individuals over the age of 65, and healthcare workers at high risk of contracting the virus.
The province expects to have around 30 per cent of the population vaccinated by the end of September.
They’re hoping to make the vaccine available to the general public during the fall of 2021.
