(Dawson Thompson/paNOW News)

By Jaryn Vecchio

COVID Increase

COVID levels in Prince Albert seeing big increase: Chokani

Dec 14, 2021 | 9:00 AM

There’s a chance Prince Albert could see a spike in COVID-19 cases in the near future.

Council met on Monday where they were given an update by Dr. Khami Chokani, the city’s public health officer.

He shared numbers from the University of Saskatchewan which has been using wastewater to determine how prevalent the virus is in the community.

The amount of COVID levels found in samples was around 900 per cent more than the previous week. This number is believed to be disproportionately large due to researchers previously undercounting levels.

Dr. Chokani noted the exact amount may be lower, however, there’s most certainly an increase in the city.

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“Last time we had an increase was 413 per cent in September when we had that huge spike.”

This data differs from the downward trend in cases the city has been seeing over the past two months.

Dr. Chokani added this may be because of testing as the amount being done over the same time span has also dropped significantly.

The data also doesn’t estimate how many people may have the virus or where, specifically, it’s coming from within the city.

“Is it all from the people here or is it people passing through? I can’t answer that,” added Dr. Chokani.

Dr. Chokani believes the number of active cases should start to look more like the U of S’s data around Christmas time, however, it will depend on testing numbers.

Prince Albert Vaccine Policy Working

The vaccine policy brought in by council seems to be doing what it was meant to do.

Dr. Chokani also mentioned there have been no COVID cases linked to city facilities since people were required to prove they were vaccinated or take a rapid test before entering.

For Mayor Greg Dionne, this proves the vaccine is legit.

“The problem we have with society today is we have a noisy minority and a quiet majority, so I hope the majority finally step up.”

As of Dec. 5, around 66 per cent of eligible residents in the north central region were double-vaxxed. Roughly 26 per cent of kids between the ages of five and 11 have received their first dose since becoming eligible in late November.

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Jaryn.Vecchio@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow