COVID-19 in Alberta: Hospitalizations up 96 per cent over the past 2 weeks
The number of Albertans in hospital with COVID-19 has nearly doubled over the last two weeks and surpassed 800 for the first time since late October, according to the province’s latest data update.
There are now 822 COVID-19 patients in hospital, an increase of 230 from a week ago, and 403 from two weeks ago, or a jump of more than 96 per cent in the last two weeks.
The 822 includes 81 patients in intensive care units, a number that has risen by 30 from two weeks ago.
Six children under the age of 10 years old were among those admitted to hospital over the last day.
Also Friday, the province reported five more COVID-19 deaths, all of them in individuals over the age of 80 years old.
The province reported 6,163 new COVID-19 cases on 16,500 tests, and there are now more than 64,000 known active cases in the province.
This week, the province introduced a number of new restrictions to testing eligibility with its chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, estimating the true case count was more than 10 times than indicated by PCR results.
Just over eight million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Alberta to date with 79.9 per cent of all Albertans having had at least a first dose and 73.4 per cent having had a second dose.
More than a quarter of all Albertans, 28 per cent, have also had a booster dose.
Compared to those with two doses, unvaccinated Albertans remain multiple times more likely to suffer a severe outcome such as hospitalization or death.
The next data update is scheduled for Monday and will cover data from Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
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.
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.
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.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
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.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
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.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.