Hinshaw clarifies COVID cohorts

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EDMONTON (660 NEWS) – In her Alberta COVID-19 update, Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw cleared up some confusion regarding cohorts.

She says a COVID-19 cohort is a safe squad, or bubble, of people that can ignore distancing protocols.

Regularly, your main cohort consists of your family and up to 15 others.

“This should be the same fifteen people at all times who are all committed to this cohort,” said Hinshaw.

She adds that anyone who is sick should not interact with the others and that the smaller the cohort is, the less risky it is.

Other cohorts, such as ones in sports leagues and schools, will have varying sizes and precautions.

For example, some sports will have different precautions in place due to the distance between players.

“It is easier in some sports to maintain two metres of distance between players and a cohort model may not be needed if distancing can be maintained at all times.”

However, those in the same area at work or church are not considered cohorts and should still respect distancing guidelines.

Hinshaw added that once a cohort is created, boundaries must be made and kept.

“Each family and team must determine what level of risk is right for them and what level of risk they deem to be acceptable.”

“When in doubt, I recommend keeping sports cohorts as limited as possible during the coming fall and winter, as it is possible we will see a rise in transmission of COVID-19 as the weather gets colder and activities move indoors.”

Currently, AHS has a restriction of 50 people in total for sports cohorts and has no plans to raise it at this time.

They will continue to monitor the situation.

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