COVID-19 'watch' declared for Calgary-Centre as cases rise above 50 per 100,000 people

Update June 29, 2020: Alberta Health has moved Calgary-Centre out of a "watch" and back into the "open" category.

The original article appears below.

Alberta Health has declared Calgary-Centre is under a "watch" for COVID-19.

Health officials are monitoring regions across the province as Alberta moves through its relaunch strategy.

Areas can either be declared "open," which means there is a low level of risk and no additional restrictions in place, under a "watch," which means the area has risen above 50 active cases per 100,000 people, or "enhanced" risk, which would require enhanced public health measures to control the spread of COVID-19.

There are 34 active cases for Calgary-Centre's 66,198 residents, putting the area at a rate of 51.4 cases per 100,000 people.

It's currently the only area in the provinceclassified as a higher risk level.

Outbreak at East Village condo

All 34 cases are part of a 45-caseoutbreak at a Calgary condo Verve in East Village. As of Sunday, 11 people had recovered.

• 40 residents of this Calgary highrise have caught COVID-19 but outbreak's cause remains unknown

"Alberta Health officials are in contact with Alberta Health Services and the City of Calgary and looking closely to see if additional measures are needed," a spokesperson for Alberta Health said in an emailed statement.

"This designation is simply an indicator that health officials are monitoring the risk and discussing with the local administration and other community leaders if needed the possible need for additional health measures. It is important to remember that this threshold of 50 active cases per 100,000 population is simply one point on a spectrum of local risk."

Alberta Health said it will keep people informed if any new health measures are necessary.

"Our advice to Calgarians, and all Albertans, is to continue closely following the public health measures in every facet of their lives. This is particularly important when indoors or attending any group event, large or small," Alberta Health said.

Albertans can subscribe for email or text notifications if there is a change to their area'sCOVID-19 status on the province's website.

Alberta confirmed 39 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. There were 520 active cases of COVID-19 across the province, 216of which were in Calgary.