Active COVID cases dip below 10,000 for first time in 2 months

For the first time in more than two months, fewer than 10,000 Albertans have confirmed active cases of COVID-19.

As of Friday, there are 9,987 cases of the novel coronavirus in Alberta considered active, meaning fewer than 14 days have passed since the infection was detected and the case didn't experience severe outcomes like hospitalization or death.

It's the lowest count in the province since Nov. 15, when there were 10,024 active cases in Alberta, and continues a steady decline in active infections from the Dec. 13 peak of more than 21,000.

Despite the dip, Alberta remains a national leader in active cases per capita, with 226 per 100,000 residents currently infected with COVID-19, below only Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

The Alberta Health Services Calgary zone leads all regions in active cases, with 3,839. The Edmonton zone, which had outpaced the rest of the province for much of the past two months, has 3,511 active infections.

“We are making progress, but are not where we need to be quite yet,” chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeted Friday.

“It is my hope to see our numbers continue to decline next week, so we will all need to do our part. Let's keep protecting each other. If we stay the course, there will be brighter days ahead.”

The positive milestone comes as Alberta reports 643 new cases Friday from 13,019 tests, representing a 4.9 per cent positivity rate.

It's Alberta's third consecutive day with a positivity rate below five per cent, a mark that had previously eluded the province since October. Rates remain consistently higher than the one to three per cent range seen during the summer and early fall, however.

Also Friday, Alberta reported 12 more deaths from COVID-19, including a woman in her 50s in the Alberta Health Services Central zone. Three of those deaths were in the Calgary zone, including a woman in her 90s who was a resident of the Revera Scenic Acres Retirement Residence and a man in his 80s linked to an outbreak at Bethany Calgary, the city's second-worst active outbreak, where 229 have fallen ill and 22 have died.

Continuing-care sites remain a leading area for COVID -19 mortality in Alberta. The other two of Calgary's three most severe outbreaks are sites operated by Agecare; the company's Skypointe facility has logged 44 deaths and 345 cases, including 187 in residents, while its Walden Heights location has seen 26 deaths and 188 cases, with 111 in residents. As well, a man in his 90s linked to an outbreak at Calgary's Foothills Medical Centre is the latest at the hospital to die of COVID -19.