LAKELAND - The number of active COVID cases in the Lakeland has increased over the past few days. According to the province's updated map, the Cold Lake region is now reporting 17 cases of the virus, and the Bonnvyille region has increased to 11. The St. Paul region is now sitting at 14 cases.
The Lac La Biche region remains low, with just one active case on the map. Smoky Lake and Two Hills are reporting zero active cases; however, to the west, Westlock is reporting 25 cases in the region, and Athabasca is showing 12 active cases.
Saddle Lake is now reporting 12 active cases in the First Nation community, which was up six cases from the day prior. The Health Care Centre was still temporarily closed due to confirmed cases at the facility.
On Thursday, the province was reporting 130 people in hospital due to COVID-19, including 18 in intensive care.
The provincial government also changed the list of symptoms for children.
"Effective Nov. 2, Alberta is removing runny nose and sore throat from the list of core symptoms requiring mandatory isolation for those under the age of 18. This includes the daily checklist used for school and child care settings," according to the Government of Alberta.
This change is only for those with no known exposure. If a child is a close contact or known to have been exposed to the virus in the previous 14 days and develops symptoms, testing is recommended and the child would still need to isolate.
Also effective Nov. 2, if a child has only one of the non-core symptoms, they should stay home and monitor for 24 hours. If their symptom is improving, testing is not needed and they are allowed to return to normal activities "when they feel well."
The COVID-19 symptoms list for anyone over the age of 18, including teachers and daycare staff, remains unchanged.
