LAKE LOUISE – A COVID-19 outbreak was declared at Baker Creek Mountain Resort on the Bow Valley Parkway.
Officials with Alberta Health say they have been notified of 11 cases linked to this outbreak, which began on Dec. 19, and all individuals have now recovered.
“We take every outbreak very seriously,” said Tom McMillan, assistant director of communications for Alberta Health.
“Proven processes are being implemented to limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of everyone involved.”
McMillan said this includes conducting contact tracing and making sure that anyone at risk of exposure is contacted, isolated and tested.
“As appropriate, AHS officials may provide assistance around cleaning, testing, or other support needed to protect the public health,” he said.
As of Wednesday (Jan. 27), there were 12 active cases in Banff and Lake Louise. There have now been a total of 406 cases since the pandemic began, with 394 recoveries.
In neighbouring Canmore, there are eight cases. In the Municipal District, which includes Stoney Nakoka-Morley were a state of local emergency has been declared, there were 113 reported cases.
As of Wednesday, there were 459 new cases of COVID-19 identified province-wide for a total of 8,203 active cases, including 604 people in hospital and 110 in intensive care units due to the virus.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said 12 more deaths were reported to Alberta Health in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths from COVID to 1,599.
“Each death is a reminder that we must continue to take action to prevent the spread of this virus,” she said during her briefing Wednesday (Jan. 27).
Hinshaw said hospitalizations have declined significantly over the past few weeks, from a peak of 943 people in hospital on Dec. 30 to 604 on Jan. 27, and from a high of 155 intensive care unit admissions down to 110.
She said while this is encouraging news and a signal of meaningful progress, there is still a lot of pressure on the health care system.
“There are just as many people in hospital today as there were on Dec. 4, when our acute care system was struggling under the impact of COVID-19,” Hinshaw said.
“While hospitalizations are declining, the health system is still feeling this strain today, which impacts anyone who needs care, regardless of whether it is from COVID or any other reason.”
As of Jan. 25, Alberta had identified 20 cases of the virus variant first identified in the United Kingdom and five cases of the variant first identified in South Africa.
