Alberta COVID-19 hospitalizations fall below 500
Alberta now has 486 people in hospital with COVID-19, 11 of whom are receiving care in ICUs.
That is a decrease of 32 hospitalizations and one ICU admission compared to last week's update.
The last time Alberta's hospitalization numbers were this low was Jan. 3, 2022.
Alberta Health data is routinely updated for accuracy and to account for reporting delays. Last week’s hospital numbers were retroactively increased from 518 to 541.
According to the province, 221 of the 541 people in hospital with COVID-19 last week were hospitalized for reasons directly related to the virus, while the other 320 people were admitted for other reasons, but incidentally tested positive. In the ICU, 46 per cent of patients were being treated because of COVID-19.
Alberta’s total number of COVID-19-related deaths went down by three. Eighteen deaths were retroactively removed while 15 deaths were added. Of the new deaths, four belong to this week.
Since its last data update, Alberta Health has counted 388 new COVID-19 cases in 4,488 PCR tests. That is an increase of 41 cases and a decrease of 77 tests compared to last week's update.
The number of new cases is likely higher because of testing limitations and because the province doesn't count positive results from rapid tests.
The average positivity rate is now at 9.17 per cent.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?
On Mar. 13, 2021, 250 Albertans were hospitalized with COVID-19. On the same date In 2022, 1,013 patients were in hospital with the virus.
In 2021, there were 36 people with COVID-19 in intensive care on Mar. 13, compared to last year's 72 and this year's 11.
It is not known how many people in 2020 and 2021 were hospitalized and admitted to the ICU because of the virus versus people who were admitted for other reasons and incidentally tested positive, as that statistic was only made available by Alberta Health as of February 2022.
Alberta had 1,213 COVID-19-related deaths in 2020 and 2,106 in 2021. Last year had the highest number of fatalities, with 2,110.
There have been 190 COVID-19-related deaths so far this year, bringing the province's pandemic death toll to 5,619.
The next data update is scheduled for Wednesday, March 22.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Loblaw leaders push back on 'misguided criticism' of grocer as boycott begins
Loblaw's new chief executive, as well as chairman Galen Weston, pushed back on what they called 'misguided criticism' of the grocer as a push to boycott the company gains steam online.
TD Bank hit with $9.2M penalty after failing to report suspicious transactions
Canada's financial intelligence agency says it has levied a $9.2-million penalty against The Toronto-Dominion Bank for non-compliance with money laundering and terrorist financing measures as the bank also faces compliance investigations in the U.S.
Orangutan observed treating wound using medicinal plant in world first
Scientists working in Indonesia have observed an orangutan intentionally treating a wound on their face with a medicinal plant, the first time this behavior has been documented.
This Canadian restaurant just lowered its prices. Here's how it did it
A Canadian restaurant lowered its prices this week, and though news of price tags dropping rather than climbing sounds unusual, the business strategy in this case is not, according to experts in the field.
Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
Doctors concerned about potential spread of bird flu in Canada
H5N1 or avian flu has been detected at dozens of U.S. dairy farms and Canadian experts are urging surveillance on our side of the border too.
There's a limit to how much interest rates in Canada and U.S. can diverge: Macklem
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canadian interest rates don't have to match U.S. or global rates, but there is a limit to how much they can diverge.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.