In the COVID-19 update for Tuesday, January 26, Dr. Deena Hinshaw spoke to the challenges caused by the amount of misinformation with regards to COVID-19. 

Over the last few months, you may have heard the term ‘infodemic’ used to describe the overabundance of information, online and offline, about COVID-19 and related topics. It can be overwhelming to wade through all the data, opinions, and stories out there and to know what to believe and how to respond. Now, more than ever before, it’s critical that we are all informed by verified facts and informed analysis, and that we are making the best decisions for our individual and collective health and safety. I want to encourage all Albertans to be thoughtful and appropriately critical of what you see on social media or any other platform.

The latest COVID-19 numbers are as follows:

  • There were 366 new cases reported after 8,300 tests were performed for a positivity rate of 4.4%.
  • There are 626 people in the hospital with 108 of those in ICU.
  • There were another 14 deaths reported in the past 24 hours. 
  • There are 266 alerts in Alberta schools and 12 outbreaks which accounts for 12% of schools in the province. There are a total of 526 cases in all schools.
  • To date, 99,814 doses of vaccine have been put into the arms of Albertans.
  • Cochrane has dropped two active cases for a total of 24.
  • Rocky View County has dropped six active cases for a total of 58. 

Dr. Hinshaw also spoke to reports of healthcare workers being mistreated while performing their duties and that it is not okay. "I understand that continuing to follow COVID-19 restrictions is difficult. But harassment is never ok and will not be accepted. Healthcare workers work hard every day to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of all Albertans.