Alberta reports 18 new COVID-19 deaths as hospitalizations, active cases continue to drop
CBC
Alberta reported 18 new COVID-19-related deaths Thursday, bringing the province's total to 3,822.
The deaths occurred between Feb. 13 and 16 and included people in their 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 100s.
The province saw a slight decline in the number of people in hospital from Wednesday's update. There are now 1,491 people in hospital with COVID-19, a decline of nine from the previous day. Included in the 1,491 are 116 patients being treated in intensive care.
The province reported 813 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, detected through 4,041 PCR tests with a positivity rate of 23.29 per cent — the lowest recorded rate this year.
The seven-day average for positivity rate is 27.06 per cent.
The number of known active cases continues to drop. There are now 16,551 active cases, a decline of 1,123 from the previous day. However, the true number of active cases is likely much higher because the province's numbers only include those who test positive on a PCR test, which most Albertans can't access.
As of the update on Thursday, about 80.7 per cent of Alberta's population has had at least one dose of vaccine, while 75.5 per cent of Albertans have had two doses and 34.8 per cent have had three.