Regular COVID updates, which were temporarily paused over the holidays, have resumed their normal schedule.
Between December 23, 2020 and January 5, 2021 a total of 11 new cases of COVID-19 were reported locally in Drumheller.
Heather Kipling Communications Director Central Zone for Alberta Health Services (AHS) confirmed on Friday, January 8, “numbers from the Institution are counted in Drumheller’s (case numbers).”
The Mail first reported two inmates at Drumheller Institution tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, December 24. By Monday, December 28 the number increased to seven and continued to climb to 24 cases on Thursday, January 7.
As of Monday, January 11, there are five active cases and 31 recovered cases among inmates; over 1,400 tests have been conducted at Drumheller Institution.
Drumheller Institution is currently the only federal correctional facility in the province with active cases, though there are some cases at provincial facilities which include adult correctional and remand centres. 
Inmates in federal institutions will also be among the first to receive the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Correctional Service Canada (CSC) media relations advisor Kelly Dash told the Mail, “CSC will be vaccinating approximately 600 older offenders prioritized by age and underlying medical conditions. Starting Friday, January 8, CSC began administering the vaccine to these older, medically vulnerable federal inmates as per the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) guidance.”
So far, vaccine clinics have been held at four institutes-the Regional Psychiatric Centre in Saskatchewan, the Regional Treatment Centre in Ontario, Drummond Institution in Quebec, and Springhill Institution in Nova Scotia.
While the Drumheller Institution was not included in the first vaccine clinics, Dash says, “Planning for further clinics is underway.”
“We have been working closely with provinces to identify our health care and frontline workers for prioritization and some health care staff have already been vaccinated. This is evolving quickly and we expect more health care staff to receive the vaccine soon,” Dash added.
During the Monday, January 11 COVID update, Premier Jason Kenney provided an update on the ongoing vaccine rollout; as of Sunday, January 10, more than 46,000 Albertans have been immunized.
Premier Kenney also announced paramedics and emergency medical technicians will be among the eligible healthcare workers, including respiratory therapists and healthcare workers in emergency departments and intensive care units, to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
As of Monday, January 11, there are 35 active cases in Drumheller, including five active cases at Drumheller Institution.
There are 12 active cases of COVID-19 in Kneehill County, 29 in Wheatland County, and two in Starland County.

Starland County is looking at some of its water bodies and how to make them healthier.
Manager of Municipal Services Glen Riep was joined by Dominique Primeau and Craig Copeland of Alberta Environment and Parks at the November 10 Starland County council meeting to discuss the state of the fish habitat in the McLaren and Michichi Dams.
Water quality testing was done in both habitats to determine the viability of trout in the reservoirs. He says there is not a single solution to better the health of the

water bodies to support the fish stocks. He also notes it seems there is lots of food in the water, that maybe prevents fish from biting. There is also fish wintering over in the Michichi, but there are areas that could improve the habitat.
“There are some things we can look into in as far as establishing a better habitat for the fish in there, but also there are some major things that would have to go into that, so it is something we are investigating,” Reip tells the Mail.
They have identified issues such as water quality as well as bird predation not allowing the fish stocks to take hold.
He says Alberta Environment is proposing a couple of ideas that could help, including double stocking the water bodies, or possibly stocking with bigger fish.
‘We have issues with predators affecting the fish populations as well, so we are looking at a larger fish which they can’t prey on, so there are different things we are looking at doing,” he said. ‘That was part of the assessment of the waterbodies, to figure out if it is water quality, if is the habitat itself, if there are any influences from the agriculture that could cause a change in the water quality. So they did a fairly in-depth kind of study. It will help them as well as the county if we want to incorporate some initiatives.
There are some ways to protect water bodies from the influence of agriculture.
“The nitrates that come off agricultural land, you can’t stop all of it. That is one of the things we are looking at is the vegetation and maybe some setbacks with just grass as a buffer zone that acts as a natural filter,” he said.
“We are also looking for funding too,” said Reip. “Budgets are being cut everywhere, so finding money is not as easy as it was 10 years ago, but we certainly want to do what we can.”