Active cases of COVID-19 are steadily rising in Airdrie, with the city standing at 64 infections as of Aug. 9. This is up from Aug. 5, when Airdrie saw 44 active cases, and July 28, when there were 21 active cases.
The City of Airdrie has halted the daily reporting of cases numbers and vaccine statistics on its website, instead directing citizens to the 'geospatial' and 'vaccination' tabs on alberta.ca. According to alberta.ca, more than 61 per cent of Airdronians have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and approximately 54 per cent are fully immunized. Provincially, 65 per cent of individuals have got their first jab, and 57 per cent have had two.
As the active case count in Alberta nears 3,500, hospitalizations and intensive care admissions remain relatively low. As of Aug. 9, 133 people in Alberta were being treated for COVID-19 in hospital and 29 required intensive care. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw has continued to stress the importance of vaccines, as she reports that the majority of new cases and hospitalizations are among unvaccinated individuals, according to her Twitter page.
The Alberta Health site also reports the majority of cases reported from Aug. 3 to Aug. 9 were in individuals falling in the 20-29 age group. Young adults also currently comprise the largest portion of active cases in the province.
Alberta Health is also reporting the number of variant cases that make up the province's total, with all variants of concern grouped into one category. Of the province's 3,463 active cases, 2,908 have been identified as variant cases – 84 per cent of all active cases province-wide.
The remaining public health guidelines and rules surrounding isolation, contact tracing and testing continue to diminish. According to a report from CBC, as of July 29, quarantine for close contacts of COVID-19 is no longer required but recommended. AHS no longer recommends asymptomatic testing.
As of Aug. 16, isolation for those who test positive for COVID-19 will no longer be mandatory, but recommended. Isolation hotels and quarantine supports will no longer be available as of this date. Testing will be available for patients requiring treatment in hospital or clinic.
The new school year is nearing and with that, masking will not be required in schools. Masking will also no longer be mandatory on public transit or in the majority of continuing care facilities.
