What you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Tuesday, July 7

The latest:

• Alberta reported 47 new cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of active cases in the province to 620.
• Two men in their 70s have died, both linked to an outbreak at Edmonton's Misericordia Community Hospital, which has close its doors to most new patients
• The NHL and NHL Players' Association agreed Sunday on protocols to resume the season, a major step toward the return of hockey this summer. It's expected some of the games will be played in Edmonton.
• A program providing free non-medical masks to Albertans at drive-thru restaurants will resume next Monday.
• The City of Edmonton won't make masks mandatory, as it would need new bylaw to do so.

What you need to know today in Alberta:

An Alberta physician is one of 239 scientists in 32 countries who signed an open letter calling on the World Health Organization to recognize airborne transmission as a possibility with the coronavirus.

But B.C.'s provincial health officer says the controversy over airborne transmission of COVID-19 has been overblown.

A growing outbreak of COVID-19 has forced Edmonton's Misericordia Community Hospital to close its doors to most new patients and institute a series of "aggressive" pandemic protocols in bid to slow the spread of the virus. 

Alberta farms are feeling the pinch of seasonal worker delays caused by the pandemic.

A provincial program giving non-medical masks to Albertans at fast food drive-thrus is set to resume on July 13. The masks are free.

The province reported 47 new cases on Tuesday. A total of 7,659 people have recovered, 54 are in hospital and of those six are in intensive care. A total of 157 people have died.

Here's the breakdown of active cases across the province:

• Edmonton zone: 243.
• Calgary zone: 230.
• South zone: 86.
• North zone: 51.
• Central zone: 4.
• Unknown: 6.

What you need to know today in Canada:

Residents of eastern Ontario, including the City of Ottawa, are required to wear non-medical masks in indoor public places to prevent the spread of COVID-19 starting today.

Prince Edward Island reported no new cases of COVID-19 Monday, but close contacts of the five cases announced on the weekend are being monitored closely. The cases appear to have originated with a man now in Nova Scotia who had recently been in the United States.

As of 5:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Canada had 105,935 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 69,570 of the cases as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 8,738. 

Self-assessment and supports:

Alberta Health Services has an online self-assessment tool that you can use to determine if you have symptoms of COVID-19, but testing is open to anyone, even without symptoms. 

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, available from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. 

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.