Frog Lake lifts COVID lockdown order

Frog Lake First Nation lifted their lockdown order today, having returned to zero active cases of COVID-19 on the Nation. The lockdown was put into effect after the Nation was notified of a second positive case Nov. 12.

Director of Operations William Quinney said the reason they were able to lift the lockdown so quickly is because of the diligence of the community in following the rules during the lockdown, and how quickly the person who tested positive came forward.

“The second that they found out and received a message from Alberta Health Services. Alberta Health Services didn’t contact us for some time after we’d found out because the positive case came forward. So instead of our health center waiting for Alberta Health Services to confirm that, they went straight to the straight to the positive case, and responded perfectly,” said Quinney.

He said both positive cases had done what they were supposed to do and started self-isolating immediately and began contacting everyone they remembered being around in the previous 48-72 hours.

According to Quinney, each positive case had approximately 16 close contacts who needed to self-isolate as well.

“All the tests came back negative, but we kept them in self-isolation for another 10 days after we got those reports and those negative tests,” he said.

He noted there are still a number of people in self-isolation until Nov. 27 because they had declined to be tested for COVID-19.

Quinney thanked the community of Frog Lake for taking the lockdown so seriously and doing what was needed to contain the spread.

He urged everyone to continue to take the threat of COVID-19 seriously.

“The surrounding area numbers of positive cases are going up every day. Our people are in an area where we don’t have the services of an urban setting, so our people have to venture out and get supplies and essential services and essential resources,” said Quinney.

He reiterated the need for continued vigilance, and asked everyone to take the precautions recommended by Alberta Health Services – regular hand washing, masks when out in public or in settings where distance can not be maintained, and disinfecting surfaces.

“Just remember to keep those safety protocols in mind wherever you are.”

The Frog Lake “Local Geographic Area” on the AHS COVID data map still sits with six active cases for the time being in anticipation for the map to update to come.

Cold Lake Lodge tests positive

Lakeland Lodge and Housing Foundation reported that a positive case of COVID-19 has been confirmed in the Cold Lake Lodge.

The Housing Foundation said in a press release they learned of the case on Tuesday and the individual is isolating.

The individual last had contact within the lodge on November 15, they said, and physical distancing, proper use of PPE, proper hand hygiene were consistently maintained.

Public Health has taken extra precautionary measures and was onsite Wednesday to do rapid testing on the residents and staff onsite, the Foundation said.

Staff not working during testing time were directed to book an appointment with AHS for testing.

“Lakeland Lodge and Housing Foundation and the Cold Lake Lodge are deeply concerned about all of our residents and staff and are working hard to prevent further spreading of the virus by isolating symptomatic or confirmed cases, through increased sanitization, limiting access to essential personnel, screening of all persons accessing the facility and working closely with Alberta Health Services, Public Health and the Communicable Disease Control to ensure residents, staff and Designated Family/Support persons are aware of the situation,” the release said.

Five new cases are shown on the AHS map for the Cold Lake area on Friday, with 35 active and 35 recovered.

1,155 new positive tests Friday in Alberta, new Lakeland highs

Six new cases reported in the St. Paul-Saddle Lake area to leave 200 total. There are 80 active infections in the area, 51 of which are active in Saddle Lake, reported by News, Events, and Information page Thursday evening.

Five new cases in the Lac La Biche area on Friday, 17 active and seven recoveries.

In the Bonnyville area, there is one new case, but active cases fell by three. There are now 26 active cases and 44 recoveries.

Smoky Lake has one more active cases with nine, two active within the County of Vermilion River, and one in Two Hills County.

On Friday, chief medical officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw confirmed 1,155 new cases of the virus.

The number of hospitalizations has grown to 310 in the province with 58 of those in intensive care.

Eleven new COVID-related deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours.

With files by Michael Menzies.