COVID testing almost doubles in South zone

By GILLIAN SLADE on April 4, 2020.

gslade@medicinehatnews.com@MHNGillianSlade

In the last 10 days the number of COVID-19 tests carried out in the South zone, which includes Medicine Hat and Lethbridge, has almost doubled.

Accumulative total of tests done:

March 22 1470

March 24 1627

March 26 1899

March 29 2282

March 30 2311

April 1 2561

April 2 2721

The number of tests carried out in the South zone represents five per cent of all tests done in the province.

Alberta Health has decided, at this stage, not to release the number of tests carried out per municipality.

Tests by zone, according to data supplied by Alberta Health, April 2:

Calgary zone – 22,753 tests, 40 per cent of province-wide testing, 1,669,272 population.

Edmonton zone – 19,800 tests, 35 per cent, 1,404,498 population.

Central zone – 5,436 tests, 10 per cent, 479,435.

North zone – 4,880 tests, nine per cent, 482,635.

South zone – 2,721 tests, five per cent, 306,577.

Unknown – 1,507 tests, three per cent.

Alberta total – 57,097 tests.

In fact the number of tests carried out in Alberta is more than the whole of the U.K., 38,000 tests, according to one of its national newspapers Friday.

A total of 196 cases of COVID-19 in Alberta have already recovered.

Of the two additional COVID-19 cases in the South zone announced on Thursday, one is in Medicine Hat and the other Lethbridge. This brings the total number of cases in Medicine Hat to six. The entire South zone climbed to 16 Friday.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced on Friday that there were 1,075 cases in Alberta of which 75 are in hospital and 24 in ICU.

There have been 18 deaths in the province, 11 in Calgary, four in Edmonton, and three in the north zone.