Montana per-capita COVID numbers way above Alberta
By Medicine Hat News on September 4, 2020.
Montana is consistently recording 50 per cent more positive COVID-19 cases than Alberta despite having one-quarter the population, a News analysis has found. That suggests the infection rate is currently six times higher on a per capita basis in Montana, while the number of fatalities is double comparatively. It comes as the Canadian Border Service Agency is reminding Canadians that borders are closed to all non-essential travel ahead of the Labour Day long weekend. Ports of entry have bared non-commercial traffic and residents of both countries from making casual crossings since March. That protocol has been extended by both countries until at least Sept. 21. Figures from provincial and state health officials paint comparatively different pictures of how the jurisdictions are faring during the pandemic. The state that lies south of Alberta has a population of about 1 million residents and to Thursday had recorded 111 deaths from the respiratory illness. Alberta’s figure at the same time was 242, though the province has roughly 4.3 million people. That’s about 4.1 times higher. Alberta added 114 cases on Wednesday, bringing the total of active cases to about 1,600, while Montana’s figure rose by 184 to 2,033. Saskatchewan, which has a more similar population and rural-urban split in comparison with Montana, province had 50 active cases on Thursday and had 24 deaths in total. 10-9
