COVID-19 in Alberta: 150 new cases as province nears 70 per cent vaccination target
Alberta drew within a few thousand first vaccination doses of its reopening target Thursday, as the province reported 150 new cases.
The province administered 5,342 first doses Wednesday, increasing the percentage of the eligible population with one shot up to 69.9 per cent, just under the 70 per cent target for Stage 3 reopening.
Alberta appears on track to meet its Stage 3 reopening target of 70 per cent of eligible Albertans having had at least one shot as soon as Friday.
- Infographics: COVID-19 in Alberta by the numbers
- COVID-19 in Edmonton: Numbers broken down by neighbourhood
Stage 3 of the province's reopening plan, which lifts virtually all health restrictions, will go into effect 14 days after the 70 per cent target is met.
Just over 920,000 individuals, or about 24.2 per cent of the eligible population, have now received a second dose of vaccine.
Also Monday, active cases fell to 2,471. Two more deaths due to COVID-19 were reported Thursday: a man and woman in their 70s from the Central and South zones respectively. Their deaths bring the total number of Albertans to have died due to COVID-19 up to 2,280.
There are now 242 people in hospital receiving care for COVID-19, including 58 in intensive care units.
The province recorded a test positivity of 2.91 per cent based on about 6,000 tests.
After strong initial demand, the pace of first shots administered tapered off quickly in early June. It took the province 20 days to go from 40 per cent of the eligible population with a first dose to 60 per cent.
Should the province reach the 70 per cent mark tomorrow, it will have taken 21 days for first doses among the eligible population to increase from 60 per cent to the 70 per cent Stage 3 threshold.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.