On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, COVID-19 was officially announced as a world pandemic by the World Health Organization. This was followed by a press conference held by Alberta Health that announced five new cases of novel coronavirus in our province, pushing the total to 19. 

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Chief Medical Officer of Health says that Alberta is very prepared for what is to come. “Today, the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Alberta has been actively planning for every possible scenario. We know that COVID-19 is going to test our health system and emergency preparedness, but our system is preparing for that test. While the risk of exposure is still low in Alberta, all partners are working together to limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health of Albertans.”

Three of the new cases are in the Calgary zone, which includes Cochrane. A male in his twenties and two females in their thirties. All cases of novel coronavirus in Alberta are travel-related. 

For more information on COVID-19 in Alberta go here.