This afternoon, Premier Jason Kenney joined Education Minister Adriana LaGrange joined Alberta's top doctor, Dr. Deena Hinshaw for the official COVID update for July 21st. 

Information provided during the update included the announcement that schools will see students return this year with adjustments in place to help protect the safety of staff, students and families.

"I am concerned about the continued rise in active cases. Our health system is watching the situation closely but I want to be clear: we all have a role to play in reducing the rise in cases that we are seeing," Dr. Hinshaw said.

Hinshaw said the virus isn't going anywhere, and people need to take ownership of their impact regarding the spread of COVID-19. 

"We heard from Albertans a few months ago that they didn't need formal restrictions to be able to make the right choice to protect each other - now is the time to show each other that is correct," she said, adding that "now is the time" to recognize how quickly the rise in cases can happen if people become too relaxed in their practices.

New case numbers as of July 21th, 2020.

  • 141 new cases of the virus in the last 24 hours
  • 1,193 active cases in Alberta
  • 93 people are hospitalized with COVID-19
  • 16 people are currently in ICUs
  • 8,308 total recovered cases
  • 172 total deaths from the virus
  • 590,502 tests have been performed in total (23,530 in the last 72 hours)

Alberta.ca shows the following active cases in the Central Alberta area: 

In total, there are 145 active cases in the Central Zone

  • 8 active cases in the county of Lacombe
  • 6 active cases in the county of Red Deer
  • 12 active cases in the city of Red Deer 
  • 8 active case in the county of Ponoka
  • 3 active cases in the Town of Sylvan Lake
  • 1 active case in the Town of Olds
  • 20 active case in the county of Stettler 
  • 2 active case in the county of Mountain View 

*Not all cases in the Central Zone have been included.

To view the geospatial map of Alberta, click here.