Alberta reports 749 cases of COVID-19, 1 additional death

Alberta reported 749 new cases of COVID-19 Friday and one additional death.

As of the latest update, a total of 2,343 Albertans have died of the disease since the beginning of the pandemic. 

The new cases were detected on 9,005 tests with a positivity rate of 8.32 per cent. 

Active cases increased by 342 to 6,709 across the province. According to Alberta Health, 73.26 per cent of active cases are unvaccinated, 11.55 per cent are partially vaccinated and 15.19 per cent are people who are fully vaccinated. 

Here's how active cases break down regionally:

• Calgary zone: 2,189
• Edmonton zone: 2,005
• North zone: 994
• South zone: 912
• Central zone: 587
• Unknown: 22

Meanwhile, 1,095 more cases of coronavirus variants of concern have been identified in Alberta. The total of known active variant cases is up to 5,406 — or about 81 per cent of all known active COVID-19 cases in Alberta.

Since early July, the highly-infectious delta variant has made up most cases of variants of concern detected in the province.

Hospitalizations from COVID-19 continue to trend upward in the province, increasing by 23 since Thursday's update. There are now 221 people in hospital being treated for COVID. Of these, 48 are in intensive care units — an increase of five since the previous day.

Currently, 81 per cent of those in hospital with COVID-19 in Alberta are unvaccinated, while 14.03 per cent are fully vaccinated and 4.98 per cent are partially vaccinated.

As of the province's latest update, 77.2 per cent of the eligible population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 68.5 per cent have had both. 

It's estimated that 58.2 per cent of the province's total population have had two doses of vaccine.