Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw made an update on COVID-19 on October 28, 2021.

To begin the update, she made note of the telephone townhall she and other medical professionals attended yesterday. The subject matter of the townhall was pregnancy, COVID-19, and vaccines. A recording of the town hall will be made available for Albertans who may also have questions about pregnancy and the virus.

You can listen to the town hall here.

Additionally, the doctor addressed the upcoming Halloween celebrations. She gave a list of measures that she hopes Albertans follow in order to celebrate safely:

  • Those who are sick should stay home and should not hand out candy.
  • Trick-or-treat with your household only, wear a non-medical mask, and sanitize your hand regularly.
  • If you are handing out candy, look for ways to limit contact with others.
  • Indoor social gatherings are not permitted for adults who are not fully immunized.
  • Indoor social gathering for those are fully immunized are limited to 10 people from two different households.
  • Outdoor social gatherings are limited to 20 people who are socially distanced.

You can find further guidance on Halloween precautions here. 

“These simple precautions can be very effective at limiting the spread of COVID-19, if we all do our part. We’ve shown they work time and time again. Let’s make good choices to ensure that there is no Halloween spike in two weeks from now,” said Hinshaw.

She also thanked Albertans for following current health restrictions and getting getting the vaccine which she says is helping to curb the spread of this most recent fourth wave.

October 28th new case numbers:

  • 531 new cases of the virus for October 27th
  • 8,387 active cases in Alberta
  • 779 people are hospitalized
  • 185 people admitted to ICUs
  • 3,085 total deaths from the virus

Active case numbers in the Central Alberta area:

  • 86 active cases in the City of Lacombe
  • 86 active cases in the County of Lacombe
  • 325 active cases in the City of Red Deer
  • 112 active cases in the County of Red Deer
  • 190 active cases in the County of Ponoka
  • 30 active cases in the Town of Sylvan Lake
  • 38 active cases in the County of Stettler

**Not all cases in the Central Zone have been included.