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Alberta hit a new record for COVID-19 vaccines, with more than 66,000 doled out, as daily cases remained below 2,000 for the sixth straight day.
More than 2.08 million doses have been delivered in Alberta, and 325,409 people have been fully immunized. The vaccination record came Friday amid early signs the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic may be waning.
The number of new cases reported in a single day passed 2,000 at the end of April, and cases haven’t reached those heights since May 8. On Friday, there were 1,433 new cases after 15,029 tests, a positivity rate of 9.5 per cent, and five more people have died.
But chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Thursday it will be a few weeks before authorities know whether the recent drop means the disease’s spread is truly slowing or, rather, that cases have temporarily plateaued.
Active cases have dipped as well, dropping by 977 cases in a week to 23,873 on Friday. There were 5,278 active cases in the Edmonton Zone, and 11,367 active cases in the Calgary Zone, the province’s hot spot
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But the number of people falling seriously ill from COVID-19 has grown in the past week. By Friday, 713 Albertans were hospitalized with COVID-19, including 177 in intensive care — up 54 and 27, respectively, from the week previous.
Alberta has the highest rate of active cases of any Canadian province or territory, with 558 cases per 100,000 people, more than four times the rate of neighbouring B.C. Manitoba’s rate is the second highest at 293 per 100,000.
Hinshaw said on Tuesday Alberta’s declining R-values, which show how fast the disease is spreads, was a positive sign the pandemic may be turning around.
More to come…
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