EDMONTON -- Cities have been the home to the balance of Alberta's COVID-19 cases but surrounding towns and smaller communities are feeling the effects of the third wave.
As of Thursday morning, Calgary and Edmonton have the most active cases of any municipality in the province. But, smaller communities, including Leduc, Airdrie, Sherwood Park and Okotoks, have moved into the top 10 over the past week.
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The city of Leduc is now home to the sixth-highest active case count of any city or town in the province, and has seen its active cases grow to 284 from just six a month ago. The city is about the 11th most populous in the province.
Similarly, Okotoks, the province's 12th most populous municipality, has seen its actives grow from 25 in the middle of March to 183 as of yesterday.
Other smaller communities including Beaumont, Wetaskiwin and Chestermere have seen similar growth.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health, has previously stressed that the pandemic is not just an urban issue.
"COVID is not a Calgary problem, or an Edmonton problem," she said on Dec. 3, 2020.
"This is a provincial problem within the context of a global problem."
Alberta has seen a recent rise in cases that has included the province adding more than a thousand new cases a day for the past eight days.
