EDMONTON -- Dr. Deena Hinshaw reported 158 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday but Alberta's active infections continued to trend downward.

With 215 new recoveries, active cases of the coronavirus dropped by 58 to a total of 1,462 across the province.

Alberta hospitals have 58 patients battling the disease, with 14 of them in intensive care units.

The chief medical officer of health reported another death Thursday, increasing the province's toll to 261. The victim was a man in his 80s in the Calgary zone linked to the outbreak at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary.

The outbreak has resulted in 29 cases and three deaths.

There are 163 active cases of COVID-19 at 97 different schools in Alberta. Thirty-two schools have outbreaks, including four watches, and seven of them have experienced on-site transmission.

ALBERTA NOT IN 'SECOND WAVE': TOP DOCTOR

Alberta has reported 17,190 cases of the coronavirus to date — the third most in Canada behind Quebec and Ontario.

However, Hinshaw says the the province is not in a second wave of COVID-19, despite increased daily numbers in recent months or declarations by other jurisdictions that a second surge has begun. 

“In Alberta, I don't think that's where we're at right now. We have seen increased daily case counts for the past few months, but those have remained relatively stable,” Hinshaw told a news conference.

“When I think about a second wave, I think about a very large spike of uncontrolled spread and that's not our only possible future.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau painted a bleaker picture in a national address Wednesday, saying a second wave is already underway in Canada's four largest provinces, referring to Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta.

“We're on the brink of a fall that could be much worse than the spring,” Trudeau said. “It's all too likely we won't be gathering for Thanksgiving, but we still have a shot at Christmas.”