Alberta reports 14 new COVID deaths, hospitalizations see slight decline

The number of patients with COVID-19 in Alberta hospital continues to decline.

As of Wednesday there are 1,500 people with COVID in Alberta hospitals, a decline of 38 from Tuesday's update.

That overall number includes 121 patients in intensive care, a decline of two from Tuesday.

Alberta reported 14 more deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the province's total to 3,804.

The deaths, which occurred between Feb. 11 and Feb. 15, included a man in his 20s who lived in the South health zone and did not have pre-existing conditions, Alberta Health said. 

The province reported 888 new cases of COVID-19, detected through 3,804 PCR tests with a positivity rate around 24.48 per cent. The seven-day average for test positivity is 27.85 per cent.

Although COVID numbers only include positive cases confirmed through PCR testing, which most Albertans can't access, leading indicators are on the decline. 

The number of known active cases dropped by nearly 1,400 from Tuesday's update. There are now 17,674 active cases in the province, though the true number is believed to be higher. 

As of the update on Wednesday, about 80.7 per cent of Alberta's population has had at least one dose of vaccine, while 75.4 per cent of Albertans have had two doses and 34.8 per cent have had three.