Of people tested, south zone now has highest percentage of positive cases

The south zone now has the highest ratio of positive tests for COVID-19 across the province, according to Alberta Health’s website data.

Earlier this week the number of positive tests in the south zone reached more than 20 per cent, the highest in Alberta during the COVID-19 pandemic.

On average though, since March 6 to April 23, it has been 4.92 per cent in south zone.

In the Calgary zone the average number of positive tests is 4.87 per cent.

The north zone is 1.57 per cent, Edmonton 1.11 per cent and central zone 0.65 per cent.

So far 117,404 COVID-19 tests have been carried out in Alberta and of those 6,107 were in the south zone, according to data released April 23.

The total number of cases for the province still indicates the highest number, 852, are in the age range of 40 to 49 years of age. The next category is those 30 to 39 at 715 cases.

When it comes to hospitalization rates the demographic changes. A total of 21.4 per cent of cases hospitalized are 70 to 79 years old and 19.8 were more than 80 years old.

Alberta Health’s data shows 4.5 per cent of those with COVID-19 need hospitalization, 1.2 per cent end up in

ICU and there is a 1.8 per cent death rate.

In the first half of April the daily number of people in hospital across Alberta with COVID-19 was hovering around 47. The last two weeks that number has climbed to the mid 60s, and then on Thursday it jumped to 72. The total number of people hospitalized in Alberta since the COVID-19 outbreak is 169. The accumulated number of those in an ICU is 46.

Alberta Health Services said on Friday that there were two cases hospitalized at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital and one of those was in ICU. These are the only COVID-19 cases hospitalized in the whole of the south zone.