Alberta reports 1,630 new cases of COVID-19, 14 new deaths

Alberta reported 1,630 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and 14 new deaths from the disease.

The new cases were detected on 15,857 tests with a positivity rate around 10.52 per cent. 

With 14 new deaths announced Friday, there have now been 2,731 COVID-related deaths in Alberta. 

Active cases of COVID-19 saw a slight decline from Thursday's update; there are now 20,215 active cases in the province. Here's how active cases break down regionally:

• Edmonton zone: 5,080
• Calgary zone: 4,834
• North zone: 4,015
• Central zone: 3,995
• South zone: 2,273
• Unknown: 18

There are currently 1,066 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 263 in ICU. 

As of 12:15 p.m. Friday, Alberta Health Services had 374 ICU beds open, including 201 additional spaces.

AHS has opened 13 additional ICU surge spaces in the past seven days, spokesperson Kerry Williamson said in a statement.

As of Friday, there were 316 total patients in ICU, the vast majority of whom are COVID positive. The number of patients in ICU increased by five per cent in the past seven days, Williamson said.

Provincially, ICU capacity, including additional surge beds, was at 84 per cent Friday. Without the additional surge spaces, provincial ICU capacity would be at 183 per cent, Williamson said.

Here is a look at ICU beds and capacity by zone:

• Calgary zone: 138 ICU beds, including 72 additional spaces. Operating at 80 per cent capacity.
• Edmonton zone: 159 ICU beds, including 87 additional spaces. Operating at 89 per cent of capacity.
• Central zone: 26 ICU beds, including 14 additional spaces. Operating at 77 per cent of capacity.
• South zone: 36 ICU beds, including 19 additional spaces. Operating at 78 per cent of capacity.
• North Zone: 15 ICU spaces split between Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray, including nine additional ICU spaces. Operating at 100 per cent capacity.

Also Friday, the province announced Hayley Hauck of Sherwood Park as the winner of the final $1 million prize in Alberta's vaccine lottery.

Hauck's name was drawn from more than 1.9 million entries received between June 10 and Sept. 23, the province said.

The lottery is now closed. It awarded three prizes of $1 million and other prizes to Albertans who got vaccinated against COVID-19.

About 83.8 per cent of Alberta's eligible population has had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 74.5 have had two.

According to the CBC's vaccine tracker, the national numbers are 87.4 per cent of eligible population having one dose and 81 per cent fully vaccinated. Of Alberta's total population, about 63.4 per cent have had two doses.