Two additional cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Airdrie, for a total of 13 active cases and 19 recoveries.

The latest recovery numbers for Airdrie differ slightly from Wednesday, when the stats showed that 20 cases had recovered. In Rocky View County, there are 11 active cases and 26 recovered.

Province-wide, 190 new cases have been identified, for a total of 5,355. Of those, 2,161 have recovered while 89 have passed away.

Despite three deaths being reported on Thursday, Dr. Deena Hinshaw explained that the total only went up by two as a death that had been previously linked to COVID-19 has since been reclassified.

Meantime, earlier this month, Amazon confirmed that an employee at the fulfillment centre in Balzac had tested positive for COVID-19.

Read more: Employee at Balzac Amazon fulfillment centre recovering from COVID-19

It's now being reported that a total of five employees at the facility have tested positive for the virus, and some employees are reportedly concerned about further spread.

When asked about the situation at the facility, Dr. Hinshaw said she hasn't spoken with the local officers of health about it.

"What I can say in general, is that when there are cases at any workplace, whatever the number of cases, there's always an investigation to make sure that there's an identification of who might be a close contact. And those people who are close contacts are then required to be in quarantine or self isolation for 14 days after their potential exposure," says Hinshaw.

While not sure exactly what's happened at the Amazon facility, Hinshaw says as her colleagues are looking at cases, an important factor is to understand where people may have potentially been exposed.

"If some of those cases are close contacts of other cases perhaps, and it's clear where they acquired the infection and that it's likely not acquired at the workplace, those would all be factors that would be taken into account by the local medical officer of health in determining whether or not there was an outbreak," Hinshaw says. "There are basic interventions that are put into place with every single case ensuring that anyone who was exposed is on self-isolation for 14 days."

The 600,000 square foot fulfillment centre in Balzac employs hundreds of workers. Amazon says they have put preventative health measures in place for employess and that the company strictly enforces social distancing throughout its facilities.

 

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