COVID-19 in Alberta: 1,630 new cases Friday, ICU numbers remain steady

EDMONTON –

Alberta reported 1,630 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, as active cases declined slightly to 20,215.

Alberta Health said around 15,857 tests were completed Thursday, giving the province a positivity rate of 11.12 per cent.

Hospitalizations declined slightly on Friday, as 1,066 people were in hospital being treated for COVID-19, compared to 1,083 on Thursday. The number of people in ICU remained steady at 263 — the third highest amount of patients to date.

Fourteen new deaths were reported Friday, raising the provincial total to 2,731.

The Edmonton zone leads the province for active cases with more than 5,000. The Calgary zone has 4,834 active infections while the North zone has 4,015.

The Edmonton zone also has the most patients in hospital, with 316, and the most in ICU, 115. The Calgary zone and Central zone have 284 and 186, respectively.

No other zone has more than 100 patients in ICU, while Calgary has 91.

The province has administered more than 6.08 million total doses of COVID-19 vaccines, with 74.5 per cent of those aged 12 and older being fully vaccinated.

 In a Thursday afternoon press conference, Premier Jason Kenney also announced the Canadian Armed Forces, Red Cross and Newfoundland and Labrador would help Alberta’s strained health-care system.

The government also said all Alberta public service employees would have to show proof of vaccination or a negative test by next month.

Source:Alberta Health data, Graphic: Matthew Black/CTV News; updated Oct. 1. Second wave taken as starting Oct. 3, 2020. Third wave taken as starting as March 11, 2021. Fourth wave taken as starting July 1, 2021.