Alberta moves to provincewide COVID-19 testing available to all symptoms or not – CBC.ca

Asymptomatic testing for the novel coronaviruswill begin immediately for anyAlbertan who wants it, Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of HealthDr. Deena Hinshawannounced Friday.

The move is inpreparation for Stage 2 of the province'srelaunch, expected totake place in mid June,Hinshaw said at a news conference.

"Now is an opportune time to expand testing to get a full understanding of the presence of COVID-19 in our population," Hinshaw said.

"Expanded testing will ...help us understand where there might be undetected positive cases and therefore prevent further spread of the virus.

Albertanswithout symptoms of illness can arrange testing by going online,completinganassessment tool and booking anappointment,she said.

Anyonecan be tested as often as they like, Hinshaw said.

"There's no restriction on the frequency with which people can access testing, so that is not something that would limit people's access," she said. "The recommendation would bethat testing should never be used as a replacement for public health measures."

The date of Stage 2 will be discussed next week, Hinshaw said.

"I said before given the low case numbersreally encouraging results from Stage 1 relaunch that we are considering whether or not we can advance the date of Stage 2.

An increase in hospitalizations over the last few days is a concern, Hinshaw said.

"Hospitalizations are a function not only of our total cases but also of who is exposed and is infected with the virus so those who are older, have medical conditions, are at higher risk of having more severe illness and needing hospital care.

"It's something we're watching very closely, but at this point, we haven't seen an uptick in our total number of cases.

"We'll continue to watch both total cases and hospitalizations very closely, but at this point, I don't anticipate what's happened these last few days would change our discussions regarding relaunch."

Alberta reported no new deaths from COVID-19 Friday, and 24 new cases of the respiratory disease.

There are 616 active cases in province, with 55 people in hospital, four of them in intensive care.

The provincial COVID-19 death toll remains at 143, while 6,220 people have recovered.

Hinshawalso announcedthe final part of Stage 1 of the relaunchwill begin Monday in Calgary and Brooks, two cities hit hard by the virus.

"Albertans in these two cities have been patient as we took a measured, phased approach to their relaunch," Hinshaw said.

"I would like to congratulate residents in these cities on the downward trends in their numbers, which has not been seen in most places around the world where relaunch has happened."

The majority of active cases of COVID-19 continue to be located in the Calgary zone. Here's a regional breakdown of cases:

Day camps and summer schools in Calgary and Brooks will be able to open Monday with occupancy limits, whileplaces of worship may resume in-person services for up to 50 people, with precautions to limit the potential spread of infection.

Premier Jason Kenney announced this week the province's state of public health emergency, in place since March 17,will be allowed to lapse on June 15.

Declaring the emergency gave the provincial cabinet many newpowers, includingthe ability to limit the size of public gatherings andrequire people to self-isolate.

"We don't need the declaration of a public health emergency to protect people from COVID," Hinshaw said. "We will still be able to ...respond to COVID-19 and protect Albertans. The emergency really is a measure that allows a significant and rapid response, but if that measure is ended ... we do have other tools we can use."

The next update with Hinshaw is scheduled for Monday, June 1.

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Alberta moves to provincewide COVID-19 testing available to all symptoms or not - CBC.ca