What you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Thursday, May 28

The latest:

• Alberta confirmed two more deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday and 29 new cases.
• There are now 652 active cases in the province, down from 679 on Wednesday.
• Alberta's sexual violence helpline saw a 57 per cent increase in calls during the first month of the pandemic and a 42 per cent increase during the first two months.
• The Alberta government has scaled back the provincial COVID-19 news conferences it had been offering every weekday and is now holding them on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 

What you need to know today in Alberta:

Alberta reported two more deaths from COVID-19 on Thursday, a woman in her 100s who was a resident of Intercare Chinook Care Centre in Calgary and a woman in her 80s who was a resident at Agecare Sunrise Gardens retirement community in Brooks.

Alberta reported Wednesday its first possible case of a new condition called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C. 

Alberta's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said the syndrome is similar to Kawasaki disease and responds to treatments such as steroids.

Alberta reports first possible case of MIS-C

5 years ago

Duration 2:19

Alberta also reported its first possible case of a new condition called Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children.

Here's the regional breakdown of cases on Thursday:

• Calgary zone: 518 active cases;
• South zone: 55 active cases;
• Edmonton zone: 53 active cases;
• North zone: 22 active cases;
• Central zone: two active cases.

There are 50 people in hospital and four in intensive care. A total of 249,705 tests have been completed.

What you need to know today in Canada:

Critics are calling on the Ontario government to be more transparent with COVID-19 data. On Wednesday, Toronto Public Health bowed to public pressure and released COVID-19 case numbers for all of the city's postal codes — information that may well spur more residents to get tested. This came just one day after Ontario Premier Doug Ford had rejected calls for a similar provincewide disclosure.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will cohost a major United Nations conference Thursday aimed at developing a co-ordinated global response to mitigate the devastating social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of 5:50 p.m. ET on Thursday, Canada had 88,504 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases, with 46,844 considered resolved or recovered. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial health data, regional information and CBC's reporting stood at 6,961.

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.

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 10 days from the onset of symptoms. 

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.