<SYSTEM_TASK:>
Solve the following problem using Python, implementing the functions described below, one line at a time
<END_TASK>
<USER_TASK:>
Description:
 def get_count(self, query=None):
 """ Return total number of alerts that meet the query filter. """

        query = query or Query()
        return self.get_db().alerts.find(query.where).count()