Begin preparing for a much different holiday season, says Dr. Deena Hinshaw during the December 1 COVID-19 update.

She asked Albertans to try non-traditional ways to celebrate. “This will be the year for getting together remotely, or having small outdoor activities where everyone can keep their distance,” she said.

Currently, there are 19 active cases of COVID-19 in Wheatland County, and 29 active cases in the Town of Strathmore. In the past 24 hours, the province has identified 1,307 new cases of COVID-19. There are 479 people in the hospital due to COVID-19, including 97 in intensive care.

There were 10 additional COVID-related deaths reported today and according to the province, 351 of the 551 reported deaths (64 percent) have been in long-term care facilities or supportive/home living sites.

Hinshaw reiterated that it will take several weeks to determine the full impact of the new restrictions announced last week. “December is when we typically spend time with family, friends, and colleagues,” she said.

“We don’t yet know exactly what restrictions will be in place during the last weeks of December,” she explained. Hinshaw noted that in the past, holiday gatherings have led to outbreaks and increases in cases.

“It only takes one person to start an outbreak,” she stated.

In terms of students, children in grades 7 to 12 are back to at-home learning until January 8, except during winter break, and will continue at-home learning after the break and resume in-person classes on January 11. Children in kindergarten to grade 6 will continue in-person learning until their scheduled winter break, then move to at-home learning after the break, and resume in-person classes on January 11.

The province is encouraging Albertans to download the ABTraceTogether app, which is integrated with provincial contact tracing. As of November 30, 280,121 Albertans were using the ABTraceTogether app.