COVID-19 numbers have continued to trend downward locally, as Airdrie reported 263 active cases as of May 27 – a drop of 68 cases since May 25.
According to numbers updated daily on airdrie.ca, there have been 3,755 cases of the virus locally since the pandemic began. Of those, 3,475 people have recovered and 17 deaths have been reported. In addition, 43 per cent of Airdronians – 32,363 people – have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination as of May 26 end-of-day.
COVID-19 UPDATES: See the latest local and global COVID-19 information.
As students in kindergarten to Grade 12 finish off their first week back of in-person learning, Airdrie is reporting COVID-19 cases at 16 local schools. Twelve schools are currently experiencing outbreaks of five or more cases, while four are listed under "watch" status, with two to four active cases each.
For a detailed list of Airdrie schools with COVID-19 cases, visit this link.
Provincially, Alberta reported 513 new COVID-19 infections on May 26. With 9,017 tests completed, the test positivity rate was 6.1 per cent. The new cases mean there are currently 10,017 active cases in the province, with 538 hospitalizations and 150 ICU admissions. According to the government's data, 2,199 deaths from COVID-19 have been reported since the pandemic began.
Province-wide, Alberta recorded an R value of 0.84 last week. The R value, also known as the reproduction number, describes whether cases are currently increasing, decreasing or staying the same. According to Alberta.ca, the value indicates the average number of people that someone with COVID-19 will infect.
According to the Province, 2,615,747 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Alberta as of May 26, with 50.4 per cent of the population having received at least one dose and 8.1 per cent of the population fully immunized.
During the May 27 update from the Province, Premier Jason Kenney spoke more about the reopening plan he had announced the day prior, which is set to kick off with Stage 1 on June 1.
"I believe this plan is a prudent approach to re-opening, with Stage 1 prioritizing the easing of low-risk outdoor activities and only proceeding to the next stage as thresholds are met and the two-week window ends," he said. "This stage is much more cautious that what you see in our neighbouring provinces, B.C and Saskatchewan, and their easing of Stage 1 because we have recently had higher cases."
Kenney said the Province also considered the fact the public health measures that have been needed over the past year are unprecedented, and have come with significant public health impacts as well.
"We have used these measures to save lives and protect the health-care system from being overwhelmed, but these interventions have never been taken lightly," he said. "It is my opinion that we need to be as mindful of recovering from the impacts that the last year has had on Albertans’ mental health, well-being and determinants of health as we are of the direct impacts of COVID-19 infection."
According to Kenney, it is the Province's recommendation that the plan focus on the percentage of all Albertans 12 and over who have received the vaccine, rather than just the percentage of adults with a first dose, as some other jurisdictions have done.
"Based on best available science, it is recommended the threshold of 70 per cent with at least one dose in this age group as the metric for the removal of most mandatory public health restrictions," he said. "This maximizes the protection that we will have before significant reopening takes place."
