EDMONTON -- Another five Albertans have died as a result of COVID-19 as the province added 113 new cases of the disease.

The deaths, which occurred in the last few days, are a man in his 20s in the Edmonton zone, a woman in her 70s and a man in his 80s in the Calgary zone, and a man in his 70s and a woman in her 50s in the North zone.

The death of the man in his 20s is the second death of an Alberta patient under the age of 30. The other was a woman in her 20s, also in the Edmonton zone.

A total of 253 Albertans have died after contracting the novel coronavirus.

"I extend my condolences to the loved ones who are forced to grieve during this difficult time," Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said.

Active cases of the disease decreased by 91 to 1,494, but Hinshaw says it's "still a concerning total."

The city of Edmonton passed Calgary in cases once again with 542 and 512, respectively. Edmonton is under Alberta Health's watch with a 53.1-active case rate per 100,000 people.

There are 43 people in hospital, including seven in intensive care.

Alberta has reported 15,304 COVID-19 cases and 13,557 recoveries since the pandemic began.

COVID-19 OUTBREAKS AT SCHOOLS

There are now a total of 24 COVID-19 cases at 21 different schools across the province.

Two schools in Calgary, Henry Wise Wood High School and St. Wilfrid Elementary School, and one school in Lethbridge, Chinook High School, have two confirmed cases of the coronavirus each.

Alberta Health has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at all three.

"I want to stress that while we're calling these outbreaks, this is a very cautious use of the term," Hinshaw said. "We're acting out of an abundance of caution by treating two cases who are in a school while infectious within a 14-day span as an outbreak even when the cases are within one family. This is an extremely low threshold to meet.

"There is no evidence of transmission within the school in any of these outbreaks. Rather, in each of these schools, there are two confirmed cases that were present in the schools while infectious."

The province created a map that will display school outbreaks.

TEST RESULTS VIA TEXT MESSAGE

In an attempt to deliver results faster, Albertans can now get their COVID-19 test results, whether it's positive or negative, via text message.

Those who don't want to get a text or an automated phone call can still choose to receive a call from an Alberta Health Services member.

Albertans who test positive for the coronavirus will still receive a call from AHS for follow-up.

Parents and guardians will be able to consent to receive messages for dependents 17 years old or younger.