Sucker Creek First Nation has the first confirmed COVID-19 on an Alberta First Nation.
On Wednesday afternoon, Alberta’s chief medical officer Deena Hinshaw announced one member of the First Nation had contracted COVID-19 through contact with an individual who had COVID-19 in High Prairie.
The individual is currently in self-isolation and there is no outbreak on the First Nation.
“We are disclosing this case at the request of that Nation to make sure that people have accurate information,” Hinshaw said.
Sucker Creek, which is roughly 20 km east of High Prairie, is also dealing with a flood right now.
Alberta has seen an additional 306 confirmed infections over the last 24 hours, bringing the provincial total of COVID-19 cases to 3,401. In total, 1,310 people have recovered from COVID-19.
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Many of the new cases today are linked to an outbreak in Brooks and in households linked to the Cargill meat packing plant in High River.
In the past 24 hours, there have been five confirmed deaths from COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 66. An additional two people have died in Brooks, and the province is currently investigating whether those deaths are related to COVID-19. One individual was a worker at the JBS meat plant, which has had 96 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Wednesday afternoon.
“While we do not know if these two deaths were COVID-related, I want it to be clear that investigations are underway to determine that,” Hinshaw said.
There have been 375 cases of people diagnosed with COVID-19 in continuing care facilities and 44 deaths.
“Testing for COVID-19 is available for anyone with symptoms in the province,” Hinshaw said.
