COVID-19 in Alberta: Hospitalizations rise as 8,500 weekend cases, 41 deaths reported
Alberta reported more than 8,500 weekend COVID-19 cases on Monday evening.
After technical issues delayed the release of data for several hours, Alberta Health said the cases were identified after completing nearly 23,000 tests, including 10,378 on Friday and 7,879 on Saturday.
There were 4,069 confirmed cases on Friday, 2,633 on Saturday, and 1,801 on Sunday.
In terms of active infections, there are now more than 55,600 throughout the province, however, Alberta's chief medical officer of health estimates the true case count is more than 10 times than indicated by PCR results.
There are now 1,304 people in hospital being treated for the virus, including 108 in intensive care. That number of hospitalizations represents an increase of 113 patients since Friday.
Forty-one deaths over three days were reported by Alberta Health, raising the pandemic total to 3,470.
"Unfortunately, due to ongoing technical issues, we will be unable to update the interactive data app until tomorrow," Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeted Monday evening.
"We appreciate your continued patience," she added.
As of Monday, more than 8.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.
Unvaccinated Albertans are outnumbered nearly four-to-one by those who have had at least a first shot of vaccine, but are many times more likely to experience a severe outcome due to COVID-19 including hospitalization or death.
It is expected that the next data update will be on Tuesday.
OTHER COVID-19 RELATED NEWS
A convoy is headed to Parliament Hill in Ottawa to protest Canada's vaccine requirements of transport drivers who cross its shared U.S. border. A segment was supposed to have passed through the Edmonton-area Sunday night, while another leg will leave Calgary Monday morning.The Canadian Trucking Alliance has condemned the protest, and says the majority of its members are vaccinated.
Alberta is making more room for COVID-19 patients with a new ward in the Stollery Children's Hospital in Edmonton and two "pandemic response units" at the Kaye Edmonton Clinic and Calgary's South Health Campus.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Huawei 5G ban delay wasn't tied to efforts to free Spavor and Kovrig, Mendicino says
Canada's Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino insists the once unknown fate of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig was not why the government delayed its decision to ban Huawei technologies from Canada's 5G network.

Thunderstorms kill at least 5, knock out power in parts of Ont., Que.
As the May long weekend kicked off, a massive thunderstorm in southern Ontario and Quebec brought strong wind gusts that knocked down trees, took out power and left at least five people dead.
Russia presses Donbas offensive as Polish leader visits Kyiv
Russia pressed its offensive in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region Sunday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the outcome of the grueling conflict would determine whether his country's fate lies with the West or under Moscow's domination.
Toronto investigating first suspected case of monkeypox
Health officials in Toronto say they are investigating the first suspected case of monkeypox in the city.
Biden says monkeypox cases something to 'be concerned about'
U.S. President Joe Biden said Sunday that recent cases of monkeypox that have been identified in Europe and the United States were something 'to be concerned about.'
Flu cases on the rise in Canada despite expected fall
The federal government is reporting a sharp rise in influenza in recent months, at a time of the year when detected cases generally start to fall in Canada.
Putin's invasion of Ukraine an 'act of madness,' former U.K. PM Blair says
The United Kingdom's former prime minister Tony Blair says Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade Ukraine is an 'act of madness.' In an interview on CTV's Question Period airing Sunday, Blair said Putin doesn't appear to be the same man he knew in the early 2000s.
Albanese elected Australia's leader in complex poll result
Australians awoke on Sunday to a new prime minister in Anthony Albanese, the centre-left Labor Party leader whose ascension to the nation's top job from being raised in social housing by a single mother on a disability pension was said to reflect the country's changed fabric.
Croatia police open fire during soccer fan clash; 2 injured
Croatian police opened fire with live ammunition during clashes on a highway with hundreds of soccer fans returning from a match in the capital, authorities said. Two fans and about a dozen police officers were injured.