RECORD SPIKE IN COVID CASES
Alberta soars past 600 in one-day jump, pushes case total to 5,172
Alberta set records for new COVID-19 cases, active infections and hospitalizations, in figures released Friday.
In the largest single-day jump to date, the province had 622 new novel coronavirus cases. The previous high came on Oct. 24, when 575 cases were reported.
The new cases came from just under 13,000 tests, about a 4.8 per cent positive rate. It's the largest positivity rate since April 28, when Alberta was in the midst of the first wave of COVID-19 infections.
There are now 5,172 active coronavirus infections in Alberta, up from 4,921 Thursday. It marks the first time Alberta has surpassed 5,000 active cases. Alberta has set records for active COVID-19 infections each day for the past 12 days.
The Alberta Health Services Calgary and Edmonton zones lead the province in active cases, combining for 85 per cent of the province's total.
Hospitalizations from COVID-19 also surged Friday, with 10 more Albertans in hospital and seven more receiving treatment in intensive-care units. In total, there are 140 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, including 25 in ICU. Alberta has 70 ICU beds dedicated to the virus.
Additionally, five new deaths from COVID-19 were reported. One death was a man in his 70s linked to an outbreak at the Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary, where only one COVID-19 case has been detected. The other four deaths were all in the Alberta Health Services Edmonton zone.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, took to Twitter Friday to urge Albertans to follow public-health measures ahead of the Halloween weekend.
“Rising cases of COVID-19 can affect all of us. We must protect our health system from being overwhelmed and essential services being impacted,” Hinshaw tweeted.
“Please stick to all the health measures this weekend, including the gathering limits in Edmonton and Calgary. Let's all protect each other.”
Earlier this week, Hinshaw announced a new cap on gatherings in Calgary and Edmonton.
The mandatory 15-person limit applies to all social and family gatherings where people are “mixing and mingling,” Hinshaw said, including parties, baby showers, and wedding and funeral receptions.
Albertans will not receive another COVID-19 update until Tuesday, as Hinshaw said Thursday the province was completing database maintenance that will impact reporting.