Alberta discovered 314 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, leading active infections to decline even further.

There are now 5,407 active cases in the province. Alberta’s positivity rate is also holding steady between 3% and 4%.

Sadly, another 16 deaths were announced on Friday, bringing Alberta’s COVID-19 death toll to 1,760.

• See also:
  • Mandatory hotel quarantine for international travellers to take effect on February 22
  • Extreme cold weather to continue throughout Family Day weekend in Calgary

Hospitalizations continue to steadily decline. On Friday there were 371 people in hospital, 26 less than the previous day. Of those, 66 were in the ICU.

Alberta has already hit its hospitalization benchmark for its next round of reducing restrictions. The province can proceed to Step 2 if there are less than 450 people in hospital on March 1.

Alberta needs to wait at least three weeks from when it moved into Step 1 on February 8, allowing some indoor dining and children’s sports again.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw has previously said that hospitalizations are a lagging indicator, and the province may wait longer if daily cases, positivity rate, or other leading indicators of COVID-19 transmission are too worrying.

Hinshaw reminded Albertans over Twitter to keep to their households over the long weekend to prevent virus spread.

This long weekend, please be safe. This is not the time for the large get-togethers of past years. By not gathering w/ ppl outside our household, we’re not giving COVID-19 the chance to spread. Meet virtually or get together outdoors w/ no more than 10 ppl & stay 2m apart. (3/4)

— Dr. Deena Hinshaw (@CMOH_Alberta) February 12, 2021

She’ll give her next live update on Tuesday, February 16.