The June 15th Alberta COVID-19 update began with Minister of Health, Tyler Shandro announcing the end of the public state of emergency in the province. 

“Due to the remarkable success of our province, the vast majority of our emergency measures were taken under the regular authority of the public health act. As we enter stage two of provincial relaunch the state of emergency is no longer needed in order to protect Albertans,” explained Shandro. 

However, the minister asks Albertans to continue on heeding the advice of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw.  

“While the state of emergency is lapsing it does not remove or bypass the existing orders that Dr. Hinshaw has put in place nor does it impact her ability to issue additional orders as they may be needed in the days ahead,” added Shandro. 

Shandro said over nine million masks have been distributed by drive-through restaurants this week. Alberta remains to be the only province in Canada that has distributed non-medical masks free of charge to the public. 

Case numbers have increased over the past couple weeks, but Dr. Hinshaw says numbers remain manageable. As always, she urges people to take precautions and follow recommendations to prevent further spread. 

“I know some people are wondering when we will stop identifying new cases. The reality is that the more you test the more cases you’re likely to find. It is a good thing to find cases and Alberta continues to test more broadly than any jurisdiction in Canada,” said Hinshaw. 

As stage two begins, Dr. Hinshaw says the province can anticipate seeing further increases. The doctor recommends people use the relaunch map to see where active cases are fluctuating.

“To help prevent local outbreaks and help you make informed decisions. You can view the relaunch map to see where active cases are in the current municipalities in the province. If a local municipal district has 50 active cases for 100,000 population with at least 10 active cases we move it into the watch category. This simply means that public health will work with local public health officials and municipal officials to see if we need to implement additional measures to prevent spread,” explained Hinshaw. 

If you are concerned that you have come in contact with a COVID-19 case or have been in high-risk situations, testing remains available for all Albertans regardless of your symptoms. You can get tested by taking a self-assessment by clicking here.

The next COVID-19 update availability with Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw will be on Monday, June 17th.

June 15th new case numbers:

  • 20 new cases of the virus
  • 440 active cases in Alberta
  • 31 people are hospitalized with COVID-19
  • 7 people have been admitted to ICU’s with COVID-19
  • 6,862 total recovered cases
  • 1 new deaths in the last 24 hours
  • 151 total deaths from the virus
  • 3,462 tests have been completed in the last 24 hours
  • 343,311 tests have been performed in total 

Central Alberta shows the following case numbers, available at alberta.ca:

  • City of Lacombe: 2 total cases
    • 0 active
    • 2 recovered
  • Lacombe County: 3 total cases
    • 0 active
    • 3 recovered
  • Red Deer County: 12 total cases
    • 0 active
    • 12 recovered
  • City of Red Deer: 35 total cases 
    • 1 active
    • 35 recovered 
  • Sylvan Lake: 2 total cases
    • 0 active cases
    • 2 recovered 
  • Ponoka County: 2 total cases
    • 0 active
    • 2 recovered
  • County of Wetaskiwin: 0 total cases
    • 0 active
    • 0 recovered
  • City of Wetaskiwin: 7 total cases
    • 0 active
    • 7 recovered
  • County of Stettler: 3 total cases
    • 0 active
    • 3 recovered
  • Clearwater County: 2 total cases
    • 1 active
    • 1 recovered
  • Mountain View County: 4 total cases
    • 0 active
    • 4 recovered