Alberta surpasses 1,500 COVID-19 hospitalizations
Alberta has surpassed 1,500 patients in hospital with COVID-19 for the first time in the pandemic, according to the province’s latest data update on Friday.
Thursday’s report of 1,469 COVID-19 patients in hospital was revised to a pandemic-high 1,532 on Friday.
The 11 highest patient counts have all come in the last 11 days.
- Infographics: COVID-19 in Alberta by the numbers
- COVID-19 in Edmonton: Numbers broken down by neighbourhood
The province’s latest COVID-19 hospitalization patient count stands at 1,496 as of Friday afternoon but will likely be revised upwards in the coming days.
Hospitalization data is revised in the days after it is initially reported to account for accuracy and reporting delays.
The 1,496 patients in hospital also includes 105 patients in intensive care units, a decrease of four over the past week.
Also on Friday, the province reported 15 more COVID-19 deaths spread across several days. One death from the Edmonton Zone was removed from the count, resulting in an increase of 13 and bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths up to 3,531.
The deaths were of individuals ranging in age from in their 60s to more than 80 years old.
Eighty Albertans have died in the last seven days. The deadliest days of the fifth wave so far were all in the last week, with 17 people dying due to COVID-19 last Friday.
There are now more than 41,000 known active cases in the province with more than 3,000 new cases reported on Friday.
Earlier this month, 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.
Alberta has now administered more than eight million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, with 80.3 per cent of the population having had at least one dose and 74.1 per cent having had two shots.
More than 32 per cent of Albertans have also received a third dose.
Unvaccinated Albertans are outnumbered nearly four-to-one by those who have had at least a first shot of vaccine, but remain many times more likely to experience a severe outcome due to COVID-19 including hospitalization or death.
The next data update is scheduled for Monday and will include data from Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Friday that Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.