A 50-year-old woman from the Calgary health zone who was on a tropical cruise recently was the province’s first presumptive case of coronavirus, health officials announced Thursday night..The unidentified woman returned home on February 21 but did not have any symptoms. The woman is now recovering at home and is expected to recover fully..“We take this extremely seriously, and are doing all we can to minimize risk and to keep Albertans safe. While some may be concerned, I remind Albertans that the risk is still low in our province. We are already taking the necessary precautions to prevent the infection from spreading,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Chief Medical Officer of Health for Alberta..Hinshaw said the case was diagnosed earlier Thursday.. DeenaHinshawDr. Deena Hinshaw, Chief Medical Officer of Health for Alberta. .“Health officials are currently identifying close contacts of this individual. They will also be asked to self-isolate at home, away from the public, and will be closely monitored by public health officials. If they do develop symptoms, health officials will coordinate getting them into care immediately while ensuring that the public and health-care workers are not exposed,” the government said in a release..“Although the testing done has not yet been confirmed at the national lab, we believe that it is important to take immediate public health action to prevent the possibility of spread while we wait for confirmation,” Hinshaw said..Hinshaw added that they are aware that other Albertans were aboard the ship but they don’t yet know how many..“We are working with the federal government trying to get lists of those passengers who were on the ship,” she said..A California man in his seventies also contracted the virus while on the same cruise and passed away. Reports say he had additional health factors..On Friday, an Edmonton-area resident became the province’s second case..Sunday, officials added two more cases bringing the total to four. The two latest cases are in Edmonton and Calgary..A Grand Princess Cruise is currently anchored off the coast of California as some travellers and staff members were also on the same cruise as the Alberta woman and the California man. Officials said less than 100 will be tested for the virus on the current cruise that is heading to Hawaii..There are 235 Canadians on board..Health officials are asking anyone who has returned to Alberta from a Grand Princess Cruise in the last two weeks to self-isolate until 14 days have passed since their return..There are currently 21 cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia, and 22 cases in Ontario..More to come….Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean is a Senior Reporter with Western Standard.dmaclean@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter @Mitchell_AB
A 50-year-old woman from the Calgary health zone who was on a tropical cruise recently was the province’s first presumptive case of coronavirus, health officials announced Thursday night..The unidentified woman returned home on February 21 but did not have any symptoms. The woman is now recovering at home and is expected to recover fully..“We take this extremely seriously, and are doing all we can to minimize risk and to keep Albertans safe. While some may be concerned, I remind Albertans that the risk is still low in our province. We are already taking the necessary precautions to prevent the infection from spreading,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Chief Medical Officer of Health for Alberta..Hinshaw said the case was diagnosed earlier Thursday.. DeenaHinshawDr. Deena Hinshaw, Chief Medical Officer of Health for Alberta. .“Health officials are currently identifying close contacts of this individual. They will also be asked to self-isolate at home, away from the public, and will be closely monitored by public health officials. If they do develop symptoms, health officials will coordinate getting them into care immediately while ensuring that the public and health-care workers are not exposed,” the government said in a release..“Although the testing done has not yet been confirmed at the national lab, we believe that it is important to take immediate public health action to prevent the possibility of spread while we wait for confirmation,” Hinshaw said..Hinshaw added that they are aware that other Albertans were aboard the ship but they don’t yet know how many..“We are working with the federal government trying to get lists of those passengers who were on the ship,” she said..A California man in his seventies also contracted the virus while on the same cruise and passed away. Reports say he had additional health factors..On Friday, an Edmonton-area resident became the province’s second case..Sunday, officials added two more cases bringing the total to four. The two latest cases are in Edmonton and Calgary..A Grand Princess Cruise is currently anchored off the coast of California as some travellers and staff members were also on the same cruise as the Alberta woman and the California man. Officials said less than 100 will be tested for the virus on the current cruise that is heading to Hawaii..There are 235 Canadians on board..Health officials are asking anyone who has returned to Alberta from a Grand Princess Cruise in the last two weeks to self-isolate until 14 days have passed since their return..There are currently 21 cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia, and 22 cases in Ontario..More to come….Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean is a Senior Reporter with Western Standard.dmaclean@westernstandardonline.com.Twitter @Mitchell_AB
