Alberta Health released a basic summary of the COVID-19 situation on Good Friday, saying lab tests had identified 1,100 new cases in the past 24 hours.
About 13,300 tests have been done, bringing the province’s positivity rate to around 8%, Dr Deena Hinshaw said in a Twitter post.
Of the 1,100 new cases identified, 300 were variants of concern. Alberta Health said 33 percent of total active cases are now variants. That figure was 13% last week, Premier Jason Kenney said Thursday.
“We’ve gone from 13% to 33% of cases consisting of this more virulent and deadly variant of the disease,” Kenney said on April 1.
“It’s only a matter of time before it becomes the dominant COVID strain in Alberta.”
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Alberta’s chief medical officer of health said the hospitalization rate from COVID-19 “remains stable” but did not provide an exact figure on Friday.
As of Thursday, 292 people were hospitalized, including 59 in intensive care.
In the past two weeks, the number of cases involving worrisome variants has jumped in Alberta.
As of March 17, 50 (out of a total of 479 new cases of COVID-19) were identified. As of March 24, 202 out of 692 new daily cases were variants. And, as of April 1, 322 of 875 new daily cases were variants.
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The province said 15,000 doses of the vaccine had been administered on April 1.
To date, over 675,000 doses have been administered in Alberta.
Alberta is currently in Phase 2B of its vaccine deployment.
Albertans born 2005 to 1957 (aged 16 to 64) with eligible high-risk underlying health conditions are eligible for this phase. For a list of eligible health conditions, click here.
However, not everyone can book right away. Reservations open by year of birth. More years and locations are added as the supply increases.
Participating pharmacies in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer now reserve eligible Albertans born between 1957 and 1963.
As of April 5, AHS Online and 811 will book eligible Albertans born between 1957 and 1959.
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Stricter public health measures remain in effect in Alberta, including a ban on indoor social gatherings with anyone outside your home.
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