COVID-19 deaths in Alberta rise by 42, hospitalizations drop by 58, data shows

Alberta's pandemic death count increased by 42 in the latest reporting week, while hospitalizations have dropped for a second consecutive week, provincial data shows.

The number of Albertans who have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic started is now 4,832.

There were 799 patients in hospital with COVID-19, including 20 in intensive care units, as of end-of-day Tuesday. Last week, there were 857 Albertans in hospital with the illness, including 20 in ICU.

The province's seven-day PCR test-positivity rate also dropped for the second week in a row, from 18.77 per cent last week to 16.68 per cent this week.

From Aug. 30 to Sept. 5, the latest reporting week, public health officials confirmed 1,084 new COVID-19 cases through PCR testing. This was 283 less than the week before.

The data only reflects PCR testing, for which there is limited eligibility. Postive results from rapid tests are also not counted.

As of end-of-day Monday, 77.6 per cent of Alberta's entire population, including people who are ineligible, have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine; 82 per cent of all Albertans had received at least one dose.

Of all Albertans, 39.3 per cent had received three doses of vaccine, up 0.2 percentage points from last week.

3 more monkeypox cases

Three more people have contracted monkeypox in Alberta since Aug. 26, according to data from the Public Health Agency of Canada.

As of Wednesday, Alberta public health officials have confirmed 34 total cases of monkeypox in the current outbreak, data shows.

There have been 1,317 total confirmed cases throughout Canada, the vast majority of whom were identified in Ontario and Quebec.