What you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Monday, Nov. 16

The latest:

• Alberta reported a record 20 deaths on Monday and 10,031 active cases. The previous record for deaths in a single day tied to COVID-19 in the province was 10. The majority of the deaths were connected to care home outbreaks in the Edmonton and Calgary areas. 
• AHS says the number of "unknown sources" among active cases as of Monday was 73 per cent. But Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, has said we should not be looking at active cases for unknown source cases. She has said older data sets are more accurate because they have had more time to contact trace those cases. The province ultimately can't identify the sources in almost one in three cases, she said.
• Hinshaw said cases in the province are growing exponentially and are straining the system. There are 264 people in hospital, 57 of whom are in intensive care. 
• Another 860 new cases were reported Monday, with a provincial positivity rate of seven per cent. 
• With each new case having an average of 15 close contacts, that means more than 10,000 close contacts per day and contact tracers are unable to keep up, Hinshaw said. 
• There are 1,046 active cases in schools and 65 schools are on the watch list. In-school transmission has happened in 151 schools. 
• Three cases are tied to a new outbreak at the Queen Elizabeth II hospital in Grande Prairie. 
• Pharmaceutical company Moderna said Monday its vaccine appears to be 94.5 per cent effective against COVID-19, according to preliminary data from the company's ongoing study. A week ago, competitor Pfizer Inc. announced its own vaccine appeared similarly effective. 

• The province has one of the highest active case rates in the country. Almost daily, Alberta is seeing record numbers of new cases, active cases and, perhaps most ominously, hospitalization and intensive care unit occupancy rates.
• There are more than 4,100 cases each in Edmonton and Calgary.
• On Sunday, the chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, Tom Sampson, called for a "circuit breaker" lockdown of up to 28 days. He said it should happen now to salvage the holiday season. A circuit breaker lockdown is a short period of more stringent restrictions with a defined end point where non-essential services are shut down in order to reduce spread, allowing the system to catch up to the number of cases.

WATCH | CEMA Chief Tom Sampson on the need for a lockdown of up to 28 days

CEMA Chief Tom Sampson talks about the need for a brief lockdown

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Duration 0:52

• His call came two days after Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi joined Sampson at a news conference and implored people to take more actions now to contain the spread of COVID-19, warning them not to wait until the province mandates more restrictions. "Things are unbelievably bad. They are much worse than they've been at any point during this pandemic, and we're going in the wrong direction," Nenshi said.
• On Thursday, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced heightened restrictions for two weeks. From last Friday to Nov. 27, in much of the province, the government suspended indoor group fitness programs, team sports and group performance activities, and reduced operating hours for restaurants, bars and pubs in much of the province. 
• Kenney also repeated his call for personal responsibility, strongly urging Albertans living in any area under enhanced measures not to have social gatherings in their homes. While the measure was voluntary, he warned it might become mandatory and be backed up by fines. 
• However, the measures were much less strong than those urged by a group of more than 430 Alberta physicians and three major health-care unions, which sent a letter to Kenney Thursday endorsing the idea of a "circuit-breaker" lockdown. 

WATCH | What is a 'circuit-breaker' lockdown and does it work?

What is a ‘circuit-breaker’ lockdown and does it work?

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Duration 1:58

As COVID-19 cases continue to surge across Canada, provinces are implementing the short, sharp "circuit-breaker" lockdowns to fight the spread of the virus and prevent health-care systems from being overwhelmed.

• The Calgary Catholic School District says it has 119 students and 16 staff members listed as testing positive, causing more than 4,000 students and teachers to self-isolate after being in close contact with an infected person. The district is struggling to keep up with demand for substitute teachers.
• AHS has introduced an online contact tracing tool that will notify close contacts of positive cases by automated text message.

What you need to know today in Alberta

Alberta saw its deadliest day of the pandemic on Monday, with 20 more deaths — a total of 427. It also surpassed 10,000 active cases for the first time and reached new heights for hospitalizations, with 264 in hospital and 57 in ICU.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, says the province is now in its second wave. 

"We have entered an exponential growth period and that is, of course, deeply concerning," she said. 

"The measures in place right now are literally a matter of life and death, and the choices Albertans are making now will determine our future in a few weeks."

Hinshaw said the rising numbers are straining the system in multiple ways. 

Contact tracers are overwhelmed, and it's seen in the transmission numbers — with 73 per cent of active cases coming from unknown sources. Hinshaw said every new case means, on average, 15 close contacts — or more than 10,000 a day — and tracers can't keep up.

She said it is critical that people who test positive follow directions and enter their close contact information into the AHS online portal. 

A leaked Alberta Health Services email obtained by CBC News warns that Alberta ICU admissions could double in two weeks.

An Edmonton hospital is readying new surge measures as it braces for Alberta's COVID-19 intensive care admissions to potentially double in the next two weeks, according to the email obtained by CBC News. 

Donalda Dyjur, an executive director at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, sent the email to staff Saturday afternoon, the same day Alberta hit a single-day record of 1,026 new cases. 

"Based on this current trend, it is projected that COVID cases will double within the next two weeks if the curve does not flatten," said Dyjur, addressing hospital ICU admissions. 

Hospitals in Calgary are also preparing for an influx of patients in the coming days and weeks. Dr. Peter Jamieson, the medical director at Foothills hospital, says the city's ICUs are operating at over 80 per cent capacity. If necessary, COVID-19 patients could be sent to a temporary tent facility at the Peter Lougheed hospital or to the Alberta Children's Hospital.

A south Edmonton long-term care facility at the centre of a deadly COVID-19 outbreak is facing a $8.1-million class-action lawsuit for negligence.

In a statement of claim filed Oct. 28 in the Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench, representative plaintiff Angelena Larson alleges that the not-for-profit Shepherd's Care Foundation breached its duty of care as the virus continued to spread through its Mill Woods care home.

The statement of claim alleges the foundation left residents "unnecessarily exposed" to the risk of infection, even as the outbreak continued to escalate. The lawsuit has yet to be certified as a class action. Statements of claim contain allegations not proven in court.

More than 101 cases of COVID-19 have been linked to the outbreak including 63 residents and 47 staff. Thirteen residents have died.

Last Thursday, Kenney announced new measures that kicked in on Friday. For the next two weeks, a swathe of Alberta will suspend indoor group fitness programs, team sports and group performance activities. All restaurants, bars, lounges and pubs in Calgary and Edmonton and other areas under enhanced status (areas with more than 50 active cases per 100,000 people) must stop liquor sales by 10 p.m.

Kenney also urged Albertans in any area under enhanced measures to not to have social gatherings in their homes.

A Calgary nurse who caught COVID-19 at work is pleading for people to take it seriously. 

Nearly two months after she contracted COVID-19 at work, Shaye Fleming said she's still feeling the effects — and it's why she's urging others to take the illness seriously. The 29-year-old contracted the virus while working as a licensed practical nurse at Calgary's Foothills hospital.

"There's guilt and shame surrounding being a young individual and not feeling back to normal, back to myself … at this point, I don't really remember what that feels like," she said. 

A letter signed by more than 430 physicians last week called on Kenney to implement a "circuit-breaker" targeted lockdown, on the heels of a similar call made by dozens of doctors earlier in the month.

"We have reached a juncture where only strong and decisive mandatory measures can prevent our hospitals from becoming overwhelmed," the letter sent Thursday reads.

Those measures, which the letter says should be time-limited, include:

• Directives to work from home for those who are able.
• The limiting of contacts to those within the household or a support bubble.
• Restrictions on group recreation and sports activities.
• The suspension of group indoor activities, including indoor dining, bars, casinos, religious services and theatres.

Albertans who test positive for COVID-19 can now access an online contact tracing tool to list the names and phone numbers of close contacts so that they can be notified about potential exposure with an automated text message.

The tool has been announced after cases became so high that AHS announced it would be hiring more contact tracers and no longer notify people who have been found to be in close contact to an infected person unless they are deemed to be linked to a "high-priority setting."

After a close call with COVID, an Edmonton ER doctor has devised a device designed to better protect health-care workers and other patients from the virus.

The Aerosol Containment Tent was developed by emergency physician Dr. Marc Curial and his company, MACH 32.

The simple-looking device creates a tent around a patient's head and neck. The tent works as a containment system to stop the spread of COVID-19 particles to health-care workers and nearby patients.

Here is the regional breakdown of active cases reported on Monday: 

• Calgary zone: 4,141, up from 3,553 reported on Friday. 
• Edmonton zone: 4,134, up from 3,572.
• North zone: 665, up from 553.
• South zone: 556, up from 512.
• Central zone: 447, up from 353.
• Unknown: 88, up from 50.

Find out which neighbourhoods or communities have the most cases, how hard people of different ages have been hit, the ages of people in hospital, how Alberta compares to other provinces and more in: Here are the latest COVID-19 statistics for Alberta — and what they mean

What you need to know today in Canada:

Canada's COVID-19 case count — as of early Monday morning — stood at 296,077, with 49,723 of those considered active cases. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 10,953.

For the second time this month, there's promising news from a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, Moderna. The company said Monday its shots provide strong protection, a dash of hope against the grim backdrop of coronavirus surges in the United States and around the world. The vaccine is among those Canada has preordered for its population.

Several regions in Ontario are moving into the "red zone" on Monday after Premier Doug Ford lowered the thresholds for his colour-coded system of public health restrictions. Hamilton, Halton and York regions moved Monday to the red alert level, joining Toronto and Peel Region.

Quebec reported 1,211 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday and 15 additional deaths. A provincial dashboard put the number of hospitalizations at 587, with 89 in intensive care.

The province, which has now seen 123,854 COVID-19 cases and 6,626 deaths, announced $100 million in new funding for home care over the weekend.

Three schools in British Columbia's hard-hit Fraser Health region are being closed for two weeks because of COVID-19. 

In Saskatchewan, health officials on Sunday reported 181 new cases of COVID-19 and two additional deaths, bringing the province's death toll to 31. Premier Scott Moe said Sunday that more measures could be coming to fight COVID-19 in the province in addition to those already slated to take effect this week.

In Manitoba, health officials on Sunday reported a record-high 494 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases reported in the province since the pandemic began to 10,947. The province also reported 10 additional deaths on Sunday — including seven tied to an outbreak at a Winnipeg long-term care home — bringing the province's death toll to 162.

In Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick reported three new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, while both Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador reported two new cases. There were no new cases reported in Prince Edward Island.

Self-assessment and supports:

With winter cold and influenza season approaching, Alberta Health Services will prioritize Albertans for testing who have symptoms, and those groups which are at higher risk of getting or spreading the virus.

General asymptomatic testing is currently unavailable for people with no known exposure to COVID-19.

Those who test positive will be asked to use the online COVID-19 contact tracing tool, so that their close contacts can be notified by text message.

The province says Albertans who have returned to Canada from other countries must self-isolate. Unless your situation is critical and requires a call to 911, Albertans are advised to call Health Link at 811 before visiting a physician, hospital or other health-care facility.

If you have symptoms, even mild, you are to self-isolate for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms, until the symptoms have disappeared. 

You can find Alberta Health Services' latest coronavirus updates here.

The province also operates a confidential mental health support line at 1-877-303-2642 and addiction help line at 1-866-332-2322, both available 24 hours a day. 

Online resources are available for advice on handling stressful situations and ways to talk with children.

There is a 24-hour family violence information line at 310-1818 to get anonymous help in more than 170 languages, and Alberta's One Line for Sexual Violence is available at 1-866-403-8000, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.