Alberta, Canada: 2021/2022 Covid Cases

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Source: https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/covid-1...e-system-still-under-strain-hinshaw-1.5284561

COVID-19 numbers back to early-Dec. levels, health-care system still under strain: Hinshaw
Alex Antoneshyn
CTVNewsEdmonton.ca Digital Journalist
Published Wednesday, January 27, 2021 12:34PM MST Last Updated Wednesday, January 27, 2021 3:50PM MST


EDMONTON -- Although more than 11,000 Albertans have been fully immunized for COVID-19 and infections and hospitalizations rates are falling, officials are warning the province's health care system is still stressed.

In total, the province has administered more than 101,000 shots since December, Alberta's chief medical officer of health said Wednesday.

That afternoon, Dr. Deena Hinshaw reported 459 new cases of COVID-19. On Tuesday, labs had conducted some 12,800 tests, leaving Alberta with a positivity rate of 3.6 per cent.
Related Stories

'Very concerning': Alberta reports first case of COVID-19 variant without travel exposure

Hospitalizations, too, have dropped – although Hinshaw noted not enough to significantly reduce the strain on Alberta's health care system or justify easing restrictions.

On Dec. 30, Alberta's COVID-19 hospitalizations peaked at 943 people. Of those, 155 were in ICUs.

On Wednesday, Hinshaw said, 604 Albertans were in hospitals with the disease, 110 of whom were in intensive care units...

 

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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmo...restaurants-gyms-feb-8-premier-says-1.5893642

Alberta will begin easing COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants, gyms Feb. 8, premier says
'This must be done carefully, slowly and in a way that's driven not by opinions but by data'
CBC News ? Posted: Jan 29, 2021 11:32 AM MT | Last Updated: 30 minutes ago

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said the province will begin easing restrictions on Feb. 8 as part of a new "path forward for easing COVID-19 health restrictions, with clear benchmarks for hospitalizations."

A detailed plan for gradually reopening businesses in the province was outlined by the premier, in which decreasing hospitalization numbers will trigger new levels of restrictions being lifted. The first businesses to benefit are restaurants and gyms.

"It is important that we show Albertans that there is a path forward," Kenney said at a news conference Friday.

"But this must be done carefully, slowly and in a way that's driven not by opinions but by data."

Hospitalizations will be the key metric for easing restrictions further, he said, supplemented by daily numbers and case growth.

"We chose hospitalizations because it's a clear indicator of health-care capacity," Kenney said. "It's also a lagging indicator, which means it gives us a better idea of how relaxations affect the health-care system."

Daily case numbers and case growth are leading metrics that better reflect recent transmission trends, he said.

Those statistics "will be used to guide decisions around the need to pause further relaxations, or potentially to increase restrictions if the virus once again poses a growing threat."

If cases of COVID-19 surge again, restrictions will reimposed, he said.

"If we start moving once again toward exponential growth like we saw in November, December, and if somehow one of these new viral variants takes hold in our community and begins to spread at rates seen in some other parts of the world, we will have to impose stronger restrictions again.

Restaurants, gyms first up

Under the plan, when hospitalizations decrease below 600, the province will consider easing restrictions on school-related indoor and outdoor children's sport and performance activities, indoor personal fitness places (one-on-one and by appointment only), and on restaurants, cafes and pubs.

Currently, there are 594 people in hospital with COVID-19, with 110 of them in intensive care. That number is what is allowing Step 1 of the reopening to begin on Feb. 8...

 

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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-reports-383-new-cases-1.5895067

Alberta reports 383 new COVID-19 cases, 11 deaths
The province reported under 400 daily new cases three times in past seven days
CBC News ? Posted: Jan 30, 2021 4:13 PM MT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago

Alberta reported 383 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday as active cases and hospitalizations dropped across the province.

On Saturday, Alberta reported 11 deaths from COVID-19, with eight cases linked to outbreaks at continuing and long-term care facilities. Since the outset of the pandemic, 1,631 people have died from the disease.

The number of people in hospital fell to 582 on Saturday, 12 fewer compared to Friday's update. There were 103 people receiving treatment in intensive care units.

Premier Jason Kenney said Friday the province would ease COVID-19 restrictions going forward based on hospitalization rates...

 

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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-covid-coronavirus-deena-hinshaw-1.5896166

Alberta now has 51 cases of COVID-19 variants, top doctor says
Province reported 355 new cases on Monday and 10 more deaths.
CBC News ? Posted: Feb 01, 2021 11:30 AM MT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Alberta now has 51 cases of COVID-19 variants, including six in three households that don't have clear links to travel, says the province's top public health doctor.

The remainder of those cases, which include a variant first identified in the United Kingdom and another first identified in South Africa, were all brought into the province by travellers, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said Monday at a news conference.

The total marks an increase since Friday of 14 such cases.

"With respect to the travel-related versus non-travel related, we are investigating at this point in time two other households, in addition to the one that I've spoken about before, that have a total of three cases," Hinshaw said. "So, one household with two, one household with one case at this point that are confirmed to have the variant.

"We just received that information earlier today and so we are doing an investigation at this point in time. We don't know a travel history, and with this new confirmed case result of these three we will be doing further investigations to determine any sources or linkages."

Hinshaw said the source of the infection has still not been identified in the first case found of a variant not related to travel. Investigators also have not seen any further spread outside that household, she added...

 

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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/hinshaw-alberta-covid-coronavirus-1.5897536

Alberta reports 268 new COVID-19 cases and 13 more deaths
New fears around variant spread could see some people self-isolating for 24 days
CBC News ? Posted: Feb 02, 2021 1:30 PM MT | Last Updated: 22 minutes ago

Alberta has changed self-isolation rules for those infected with variants of COVID-19, and in some cases people may end up in quarantine for up to 24 days, says the province's top public health doctor.

The province has now found 50 cases of the virus variant first identified in the United Kingdom, and seven of the variant first identified in South Africa, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said Tuesday at a news conference.

Hinshaw said health officials have found it can be more difficult for people with those variants to isolate away from other household members. As a result, she said, officials are making sure that any new cases or household contacts linked to cases of those variants are aware of the hotel isolation and quarantine options.

"If cases choose to stay home during their isolation period, their household contacts will now need to stay at home as well in quarantine, until 14 days have passed from the end of the case's isolation period, for a total of 24 days," she said.

"Given how easily this variant is spreading in homes, this enhancement is necessary to prevent spread in the community."

Alberta reported 268 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and 13 more deaths.

"The vast majority of these cases — all seven of the variants first identified in South Africa, and 36 of the cases of variants first identified in the U.K., are in returning travellers," Hinshaw said. "An additional six cases have been detected in close contacts of returning travellers."

But eight of the 57 cases, found in five different households, have no links to travel yet identified, Hinshaw said.

That is an increase of two cases from the day before...

 

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Source: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/alberta-covid-19-numbers-continue-203000251.html

Alberta's phased reopening necessary given height of second wave, top doctor says
Wed., February 3, 2021, 3:30 p.m.?3 min read

Though case numbers are declining, Alberta is taking a cautious approach to reopening because hospitals are still under strain dealing with 10 times the COVID-19 patients they saw during last spring's first wave of the pandemic, says the province's top public health doctor.

There are currently 539 patients being treated for the illness in hospitals, including 94 in ICU beds. That's a decline of almost 400 since the peak of 938 on Dec. 30.

"This a very encouraging trend, and pressure is easing on the health system that we all rely on," Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health, said Wednesday at a news conference.

"At the same time, our numbers remain far higher than they were in the spring."

When Alberta's spring relaunch began on May 14, there were 57 people in hospital, one-tenth of the current total, Hinshaw said.

The 6,599 active cases reported on Wednesday is less than one-third of the peak of 21,231 seen on Dec. 13, but it's still drastically higher than what Alberta was facing in May, she said.

"When we relaunched in the spring, there were less than 1,000 active cases in the community," she said, "meaning that there are almost seven times the active cases today than there were at that time."

Alberta reported 259 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the lowest daily total in almost four months.

The current count of active cases is the lowest total since Nov. 1, when there were 5,980.

Another 11 deaths were reported on Wednesday...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/deena-hinshaw-alberta-covid-coronavirus-1.5900769

Alberta reports 13 more COVID-19 deaths and 582 new cases
Total of 68 confirmed cases of people infected with two variants of coronavirus
CBC News ? Posted: Feb 04, 2021 1:30 PM MT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago


Alberta reported 13 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday and 582 new cases of the illness.

There are 6,588 active cases in the province, with 517 patients being treated in hospitals for the illness, including 93 in ICU beds.

The province has now confirmed a total of 68 cases of people infected with variants of the coronavirus that were first identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa.

"We are actively reviewing the literature and experience around the globe to assess if additional measures are needed in school and other settings in the weeks ahead," Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said Thursday at a news conference.

"Evidence is still emerging, but we are watching closely. If we need to make changes, we will do so."

Laboratories conducted more than 11,500 tests over the past 24 hours, and the positivity rate was about 3.6 per cent.

Hinshaw said current evidence from around the world indicates that vaccines are safe and the benefit of being protected from COVID-19 outweighs the very rare risk of a minor adverse event...

 

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Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/7623590/alberta-covid-19-variant-cases-february-5/

78 total variant cases of COVID-19 identified in Alberta as of Friday
By Julia Wong & Caley Ramsay Global News
Posted February 5, 2021 5:42 pm
Updated February 5, 2021 5:49 pm

Alberta has now identified 78 variant cases of COVID-19 in the province, an increase of 10 from Thursday.

As of Friday, there were 71 cases of the B.1.1.7. variant, which was first discovered in the U.K., and seven of the N501Y.V2 variant, which was first discovered in South Africa.

Fifty-five of the variant cases are travel-related and 23 have not been currently linked to travel, according to Alberta Health.

Also Friday, the province recorded 396 new cases of COVID-19 and nine additional deaths from the disease.

The increase of variant cases comes as the province prepares for certain sectors of the economy to reopen on Monday: school-related children’s sports, indoor dining at restaurants and one-on-one personal training.

The Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association has been calling for the province to release information around the prevalence of the variants in positive samples.

On Friday afternoon, Alberta Health spokesperson Tom McMillan said the department is exploring the feasibility of reporting on prevalence among samples tested...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/covid-19-february-6-2021


COVID-19: 348 cases, 12 deaths in Alberta Saturday
Author of the article:
Lauren Boothby
Publishing date:
Feb 06, 2021 • 13 minutes ago • 1 minute read

The province reported Saturday 348 more cases of COVID-19 have been discovered.

Twelve more people have died from COVID-19 bringing the death toll to 1,705 since the pandemic began. There were 457 people in hospital including 84 in intensive care.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw wrote in a tweet of the 10,033 tests completed there was a positivity rate of 3.6 per cent. She also expressed her condolences to the families of those mourning the deaths of a loved one due to the disease, and urged Albertans to continue to take precautions.

“It’s important that we remain vigilant and follow public health guidance so we can continue on the path forward. Please continue to refrain from indoor social gatherings. Wear a mask when in an indoor public setting and stay home if you’re sick,” she wrote.

As of Saturday, there were 6,266 active cases in the province of which 1,940 were in the Edmonton Zone...

 

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Source: https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/351-new-covid-19-cases-reported-in-alberta-on-sunday-1.5299384

351 new COVID-19 cases reported in Alberta on Sunday
CTV News Edmonton
Published Sunday, February 7, 2021 3:55PM MST

EDMONTON -- Alberta reported 351 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, bringing the total number of active cases in the province to 6,242. Four more deaths were also reported.

There were 6,266 active cases in the province on Saturday.

The Edmonton zone currently has 1,889 active cases, while the Calgary zone has 2,508.

Provincewide, 434 people are in hospital, down from 457 on Saturday. There are 81 people in ICU, down from 84 on Saturday...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/7627348/covid-19-update-alberta-feb-8-2021/



Hinshaw urges caution as restrictions ease and Alberta records 25 new COVID-19 variant cases
By Allison Bench Global News
Posted February 8, 2021 1:37 pm
Updated February 8, 2021 6:27 pm

As Alberta added an additional five deaths and 269 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said that officials have also recorded an additional 25 variant cases of the virus since Friday.

“It’s not inevitable that the variant strain would become the dominant strain,” Alberta’s chief medical officer of health said. “It really depends on all of us and continuing to work together to prevent the spread.”

The variants of concern – first identified in South Africa and U.K. — spread more easily between people.

Hinshaw said that Monday’s 269 positives came from 6,184 tests, giving a provincial positivity rate of 4.3 per cent.

She added that the province is now able to test every positive result for the variants.

“On days like today, our capacity to screen for variants exceeds the number of new cases of COVID-19 that have been identified,” Hinshaw said.

She added that the additional 25 cases brings the total number of COVID-19 variants confirmed in the province to 96, 46 of which are not linked to travel. She added there has not yet been any variant spread recorded in schools.

There are now 432 Albertans in hospital, 76 of whom are in intensive care.

Hinshaw also said that with Step 1 of Alberta’s eased restriction plan now in place, it’s especially important that people follow the current rules....

 

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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/deena-hinshaw-covid-alberta-1.5906826

Alberta reports 195 new COVID-19 cases and 12 more deaths
About 32,700 people now fully immunized against the disease
CBC News ? Posted: Feb 09, 2021 1:30 PM MT | Last Updated: 24 minutes ago

Alberta reported 195 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and 12 more deaths from the illness.

Across the province, 427 people were being treated for the illness in hospitals, including 78 in ICU beds.

More than 124,000 doses of vaccine have been administered so far, with 32,700 people now fully immunized with two doses.

There were 5,831 active cases. A regional breakdown of those cases on Tuesday was:

Calgary zone: 2,335
Edmonton zone: 1,748
Central zone: 656
South zone: 325
North zone: 758
Unknown: 9

One more case of a virus variant was detected over the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 104 in the province. Of those, 97 are the strain first identified in the United Kingdom and seven have been the strain first identified in South Africa...

 

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Source: https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/alberta...vid-19-variant-transmission-top-doc-1.5303295

Alberta finds first cases of in-school COVID-19 variant transmission: top doc
CTV News Edmonton
Published Wednesday, February 10, 2021 11:16AM MST Last Updated Wednesday, February 10, 2021 3:54PM MST

EDMONTON -- Alberta reported Wednesday 339 new cases of COVID-19, including 16 more variant cases.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said officials learned earlier that day two of the variant cases were likely the result of in-school transmission. She said there were seven classes in six schools where a student with a COVID-19 variant attended school while infectious.

"Despite rigorous follow up, this is the first time in one of these schools that we have identified variant transmission occurring in that location," she told the public.

"Health officials are responding and making sure that anyone who is at risk is in quarantine and being offered testing twice. We are being extremely cautious to protect the health of everyone involved and to limit any future transmission."

In total, there are 5,706 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Alberta's positivity rate sits at 3.2 per cent after 10,800 tests on Tuesday.

According to Hinshaw, there are 421 Albertans in hospital with the disease, including 77 in ICUs.

She also reported Wednesday six more COVID-19-related deaths. Since March 2020, 1,728 Albertans have died...

 

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Source: https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/alta-covid-19-hospitalizations-dip-below-400-1.5305151

Alta. COVID-19 hospitalizations dip below 400
Alex Antoneshyn
CTVNewsEdmonton.ca Digital Journalist
Published Thursday, February 11, 2021 11:22AM MST Last Updated Thursday, February 11, 2021 3:55PM MST


EDMONTON -- For the first time in months, there are less than 400 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19.

As of Thursday, there were 397 COVID-19 patients in hospitals across the province. Of those, 71 are in ICU.

"Our numbers continue to decline, but there are still as many people in hospital today as there were on Nov. 23," Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw reminded the public.

She announced on Thursday 16 more COVID-19-related deaths, and 351 new cases among some 10,000 tests conducted the day before. The province has a positivity rate of 3.5 per cent...

 

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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmo...rta-along-with-16-additional-deaths-1.5913040

314 new cases of COVID-19 recorded in Alberta, along with 16 additional deaths
15 new cases of more contagious COVID-19 variants were also recorded in Alberta
CBC News ? Posted: Feb 12, 2021 4:45 PM MT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago

Alberta reported 314 new cases of COVID-19 around the province on Friday, as well as 16 additional deaths recorded in the last 24 hours.

There are now 5,407 active cases in the province. That includes 371 people in hospital, of which 66 are in intensive care units.

Since the pandemic began, 1,760 people have died from COVID-19 in Alberta.

With the Family Day long weekend ahead, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, posted a message on Friday urging Albertans to be mindful of health precautions.

"This is not the time for the large get-togethers of past years," Hinshaw said in a Twitter post.

"By not gathering with people outside our household, we're not giving COVID-19 the chance to spread. Meet virtually or get together outdoors with no more than 10 people and stay two metres apart."

COVID-19 variants continue to spread around the province.

As of Friday, 171 cases of the more contagious COVID-19 variants have been reported in Alberta, including 15 new cases reported in the last 24 hours.

Of those, 164 cases are of the B117 variant first identified in the United Kingdom have now been found in Alberta. The other seven are of the B1351 variant, first discovered in South Africa...

 

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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/deena-hinshaw-covid-news-conference-1.5915469

One week after restrictions eased, Alberta reports 263 new COVID-19 cases, nine more deaths
Testing confirmed 50 new cases of people infected with coronavirus variants from Friday to Monday
CBC News ? Posted: Feb 16, 2021 1:30 PM MT | Last Updated: 19 minutes ago

Alberta reported 263 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, including 50 people who more were infected by highly contagious variants of the coronavirus.

Those 50 variant cases were confirmed by testing from Friday to Monday, an average of about a dozen each day.

The province also reported nine more deaths. Five of the deaths were from this month, three were from November and one from December.

There were 4,993 active COVID-19 cases across the province, with 365 patients being treated in hospitals for the illness, including 56 in ICU beds.

The regional breakdown of active cases was:

Calgary zone: 1,887
Edmonton zone: 1,333
North zone: 737
Central zone: 679
South zone: 344
Unknown: 13

The province now has a total of 221 cases of two faster-spreading variant strains of the virus. Of those cases, 214 are the B.1.1.7 variant first identified in the United Kingdom and seven are the variant first detected in South Africa...

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmo...ndemic-deena-hinshaw-medical-health-1.5916989

Alberta reports 277 new COVID-19 cases, seven more deaths from illness
A total of 1,798 people in Alberta have died from the illness since last March
CBC News ? Posted: Feb 17, 2021 1:30 PM MT | Last Updated: 38 minutes ago

Alberta reported 277 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and seven more deaths from the illness.

Across the province, 370 patients are being treated in hospitals for the disease, including 60 in ICU beds.

Nine days after the province eased some restrictions, public health officials are closely watching "leading indicators" as they try to determine if or when further restrictions can be lifted, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health, said Wednesday at a news conference.

The indicators include the positivity rate, new case counts and the R-value, and Hinshaw said she is watching for trends rather than for specific benchmarks...

...laboratories processed 7,476 tests over the past 24 hours, with a positivity rate of about 3.9 per cent.

Variant cases continue to rise in the province, with another four reported on Feb. 16.

The first case of B.1.1.7, first detected in the United Kingdom, was confirmed in Alberta in December. As of Wednesday, a total of 218 cases linked to that variant had been confirmed in the province.

Another variant called B.1351, originally identified in South Africa, was first reported in Alberta on Jan. 8. As of Wednesday, a total of seven cases linked to that variant had been confirmed in the province....

 

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Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/covid-hinshaw-alberta-1.5918447

Alberta reports 415 new COVID-19 cases, seven more deaths
Testing confirms 14 new cases of variant first identified in United Kingdom
CBC News ? Posted: Feb 18, 2021 1:30 PM MT | Last Updated: 3 minutes ago

Alberta reported 415 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday and seven more deaths from the disease.

That case total included 14 new cases where people were infected with a more contagious variant of the coronavirus.

There are now 239 variant cases in the province, including 232 of variant B.1.1.7, first identified in the United Kingdom, and seven of variant B.1.351, which was first detected in South Africa.

Across the province, 362 patients were being treated in hospitals for the illness, including 55 in ICU beds.

Alberta had only 50 contact tracers when the pandemic began last March but now has about 2,300, Health Minister Tyler Shandro said Thursday at a news conference.

That workforce can now investigate 1,500 cases in a single day, Shandro said, and includes a dedicated team of 50 tracers who work only on variant cases.

Each case now has an average of five close contacts, compared to an average of 15 in November.

There were 4,887 active cases on Thursday. The regional breakdown of those cases was:

Calgary zone: 1,734
Edmonton zone: 1,287
North zone: 799
Central zone: 729
South zone: 333
Unknown: 5

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health, updated Albertans on cases numbers at the same news conference.

It has been 10 days since some restrictions were eased. Now provincial health officials are keeping an eye on the numbers to determine the next phase of reopening.

Alberta's phased approach to reopening is directly tied to hospitalization numbers and influenced by other indicators, such as infection rates and case counts.

On Wednesday, 370 patients were being treated in hospital, including 60 in ICU beds...

 

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Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/7651225/alberta-covid-19-february-19-325-cases-7-deaths/

Alberta reports 325 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, 7 additional deaths
By Caley Ramsay Global News
Posted February 19, 2021 5:45 pm
Updated February 19, 2021 5:49 pm

Alberta recorded 325 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, as well as seven additional deaths from the disease.

The new cases came as a result of 9,376 test being completed, putting the province’s positivity rate at about 3.6 per cent.

There were 352 people in hospital with COVID-19 on Friday afternoon, 55 of whom were being treated in the ICU.

The seven additional deaths bring the province’s death toll from COVID-19 to 1,812.

Six of the deaths occurred in the Edmonton zone. Three deaths were linked to the outbreak at Youville Home: a man in his 90s and two women in their 90s. Two men in their 80s linked to the outbreak at Summerwood Village Retirement Residences died. A man in his 80s linked to the outbreak at Boyle Health Centre also died. All six cases included comorbidities, according to Alberta Health.

A woman in her 70s with comorbidities linked to the outbreak at The View at Lethbridge in the South zone also died.

Earlier Friday, Premier Jason Kenney announced that Phase 1B of the province’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout will begin today..