by: lisa johnson
as of thursday, close contacts of covid-19 cases in alberta will no longer be required to isolate, and come next month, those with confirmed cases won’t have to either.
on wednesday, at her first in-person update since june 29, chief medical officer of health dr. deena hinshaw said quarantining could be required in some high-risk settings such as continuing care facilities or to manage outbreaks, but provincial contact tracers will no longer call close contacts. the province will also no longer do routine asymptomatic testing for close contacts.
alberta’s case numbers continued to rise wednesday, with 194 new cases and 1,334 active cases — up from 1,173 active cases the previous day.
hinshaw emphasized the importance of focusing on severe outcomes rather than case numbers.
“while covid-19 cases may rise in the coming weeks and months, a surge of hospitalizations and other severe outcomes is much less likely, thanks to vaccines,” said hinshaw.
hinshaw said public health officials are shifting their focus to identifying and managing outbreaks in high-risk locations like acute hospital care or high-risk workplaces.
for now, isolation for anyone with covid-19 symptoms and for confirmed positive cases will still be required, but as the province’s health system shifts its response, more restrictions will be lifted.