Alberta children have the highest rate of active COVID-19 cases of any age group
Children between the ages of five and nine years old currently have the most active COVID-19 cases in Alberta of any age group relative to its population, according to the latest provincial data.
As of Monday’s data update, 2,069 of the province’s 21,307 active cases are among those aged between five and nine.
That translates to 742 active cases per 100,000 people, the most of any age range.
- Kenney, Copping, Madu to join Hinshaw for Tuesday's COVID-19 briefing
- Infographics: COVID-19 in Alberta by the numbers
- COVID-19 in Edmonton: Numbers broken down by neighbourhood
Children aged 10-19 years old represent the second-highest active case rate at about 622 per 100,000.
The total number of active cases among school-aged children (between five and 19 years old) now stands at 5,439, an increase of 4,168 from the start of September.
“I really don't see this getting better without a full closure of non-essential businesses and potentially a closure of schools as well,” said Dr. Tehseen Ladha, a pediatrician.
“Overall children won't have severe outcomes, but if you increase the number of children who get infected, you increase the number of children with severe outcomes.”
Active cases are most frequent among those aged between 30 and 39 years old.
Those trends represent a reversal from the second wave of the pandemic last September, when active cases were largely centred around those aged 80 and over.
A spokesperson for Education Minister Adriana LaGrange declined an interview request Tuesday.
In August, she announced the province’s back-to-school plan that left health measures to school boards instead of creating province-wide rules.
Earlier Tuesday, the Alberta Teachers’ Association called for the provincial government to introduce mandatory vaccinations for all teachers and school staff.
“The best way to support student safety at a time when so many students cannot be vaccinated is to ensure that the adults around them are vaccinated,” said ATA president Jason Schilling.
Only children aged 12 or older are eligible to be vaccinated.
Manufacturer Pfizer has said it is seeking authorization for its vaccines to be used on children aged five and 11 after submitting testing data.
Health authorities in Toronto and Ottawa have said they have begun logistic planning to distribute vaccinations to younger children once the shot is approved for that age range.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.