Alberta reports 1,597 new cases of COVID-19 as vaccine rollout expands
More than 112,000 Albertans ages 12 and older had booked first shots as of 2:30 p.m.
Alberta reported 1,597 new cases of COVID-19 Monday and seven new deaths, as the province's COVID-19 vaccine eligibility opened up to everyone in the province age 12 or older.
The province has now seen 1,916,957 doses of vaccine administered, an increase of 27,918 from the previous day.
So far, 318,841 Albertans have been fully immunized with two doses of vaccine. As of end of day Sunday, about 35.7 per cent of Alberta's population had received at least one dose.
In a social media post, Health Minister Tyler Shandro said more than 112,000 Albertans age 12 and older had booked vaccine appointments as of 2:30 p.m. Monday, the first day of the newly expanded eligibility.
Labs completed 13,921 tests for COVID-19 Sunday, with a positivity rate around 11.4 per cent.
Hospitalizations from COVID-19 continue to rise. Across the province, 690 people were being treated in hospital for the disease, an increase of 22 from the previous day. Included in the total were 158 patients in intensive care.
Alberta had 25,438 active cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday. Here's how those cases break down regionally:
- Calgary zone: 11,539
- Edmonton zone: 5,944
- North zone: 3,762
- Central zone: 2,807
- South zone: 1,335
- Unknown: 51
The latest R-value information, the number of people infected by each infected person, shows that spread of COVID-19 had slowed across the province last week, except for the Calgary zone.
Here are the latest R-value numbers from May 3 to May 9:
Alberta, province-wide: 1.00
Edmonton zone: 0.96
Calgary zone: 1.06
Rest of Alberta: 0.94
On Monday, the World Health Organization classified the B1617 variant, first found in India, as a global variant of concern.
So far, six cases of that variant have been detected in Alberta. There are currently 10,673 active variant cases in Alberta, though the province recently reduced its variant testing and is no longer screening all positive cases for variants of concern.
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