COVID-19 in Alberta: 349 new cases, 1 death on Friday as hospitalizations hit 3-month low
Alberta reported 349 new cases of COVID-19 and one more death on Friday, as hospitalizations due to the coronavirus hit a three-month low.
Friday was the third straight day the number of new cases has declined after being in the 200s the three days before.
- Infographics: COVID-19 in Alberta by the numbers
- COVID-19 in your community: Edmonton’s coronavirus status in numbers
The death was of a person in their 70s living in the North health zone.
There are now 395 COVID-19 patients in Alberta hospitals, including 78 in intensive care units. The last time Alberta had fewer than 400 coronavirus patients in hospital was on Aug. 28.
Also on Friday, Alberta reported one more case of the Omicron variant, bringing the province's total number of cases of the new variant up to four.
Vaccination data was unavailable on Friday due to a technical issue, but unvaccinated Albertans remain several times more likely to suffer a severe outcome after contracting COVID-19, including hospitalization or death.
Alberta’s next data update is scheduled for Monday afternoon and will include data from Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
OTHER COVID-19 RELATED NEWS
An Alberta mayor believes Canada Post's vaccine policy is the impetus behind local staff shortages. The post office in Lamont was closed earlier in the week, and later reopened thanks to outside workers.
Alberta Health Services says more health-care workers are accessing the mental health supports it offers amid abuse and poor treatment on the front line.
Documents obtained by the Alberta NDP show Education Minister Adriana LaGrange was left as the acting health minister when COVID-19 cases skyrocketed in August while the premier and then-health minister Tyler Shandro vacationed. Government press secretaries said both Shandro and Premier Jason Kenney were working during their holidays.
The City of Calgary will provide free rapid tests to its unvaccinated employees, its hand forced by the police department which made the same decision first.
Booster COVID-19 vaccine appointments opened to Albertans aged 60 and older on Thursday.
As COVID-19 testing rules for travellers change, confusion has grown at airports needing to carry them out, including Edmonton International Airport.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Train derailed in Sarnia after colliding with a truck
Police are investigating after a transport truck collided with a train in Sarnia.
Fewer medical students going into family medicine contributing to doctor shortage
As some family doctors are retiring and others are moving away from family medicine, there are fewer medical students to take their place.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.