COVID-19 cases jump by 162 to 2,158 total in Alberta, two additional deaths

There have been 2,158 total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alberta as of Thursday with 162 new cases reported.

Two additional deaths, for a total of 50 provincewide, have occurred in the past 24 hours: a male in his 70s from Calgary and a woman in her 80s from the High Prairie area.

Both were residents of a long-term care facility.

There remains a data lull on the Alberta Government website that breaks down the active and recovered cases in areas across the province, including the Lakeland region.

Chief medical officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw said during her daily briefing that a power failure at their data centre late on Tuesday night caused a small electrical fire and brought down their reporting systems.

She said teams are “working around the clock” to bring the most recent data back on online, and she hoped this would be resolved tomorrow.

Nearly 2,800 tests were conducted since yesterday.

Seven staff members at the Foothills Medical Centre Maternity Ward have tested positive total.

She also said that outbreak procedures are ongoing at the Kearl Lake oilsands project, north of Fort McMurray, which had multiple tests return positive and the Cargill meatpacking plant in High River that has seen 38 cases it was reported last Sunday.