COVID-19 hospitalizations drop below 100 patients
For the first time in more than nine months, there are fewer than 100 COVID -19 patients receiving care in Alberta hospitals.
As of Tuesday, 98 COVID-19 patients were in hospital, which includes 27 in intensive-care units. It is the first time since Oct. 10 that COVID-19 hospitalizations have dipped below 100.
At that time there were 98 in hospital, including 14 in ICUS, and the province was a few weeks away from the second wave of infections that peaked in December.
Hospitalizations did not drop this low between the second and third waves of infections.
The majority of current patients are in hospitals within the Calgary zone, including 63 per cent of those in ICU. More than half the province's active cases are in the Calgary zone. Of the 606 active cases across Alberta, 341 are in the Calgary zone, while 117 are in the Edmonton zone, 66 in the North zone, 50 in the Central zone and 28 in the South zone.
The R-value, or reproduction number, recorded last week in the Calgary zone, however, averaged 0.88, meaning the rate of transmission was decreasing. It was slightly above the provincial average of 0.84 but below the Edmonton zone's average of 0.97.
Alberta Health on Tuesday reported 69 new cases from 5,010 completed tests, for a positivity rate of about 1.4 per cent.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said on social media that she's thrilled more than 60 per cent of those eligible have gotten their second shot.
“Remember: the best time to get your vaccines is right now,” Hinshaw posted on Twitter.
Two additional deaths were reported Tuesday.