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Of the 17 new cases, 14 are in the Calgary zone and three are in the Edmonton zone. This brings the total in the province to 56 and marks the highest increase of confirmed cases within 24 hours.

Two of the individuals are receiving treatment in hospitals and the rest are recovering at home in self-isolation. At least seven of the cases are connected to a single gathering in Calgary, which demonstrates the importance of social distancing, Hinshaw said.

During the news conference, Premier Jason Kenney said Albertans are all responsible for each other’s health, adding it is important to spread information about the restrictions, bans and advisories by word of mouth to ensure people are appropriately self-isolating and social distancing.

Kenney also announced that an additional $500 million is being directed to the provincial health-care budget in response to the pandemic.

“This is in addition to our already budgeted amount of $20.6 billion for Alberta Health,” said Kenney. “We will continue to provide all of the resources necessary to help our public health officials cope with this crisis.”

Hinshaw said it was not an easy decision to cancel K-12 classes because of the societal costs of removing students from a school setting, but she noted schools are not closed as teachers will be working with school authorities to continue students’ education.

Photo by Gavin Young/Postmedia

Many post-secondary institutions had previously announced a transition to online classes and virtual programming.