Alberta reports 1,401 new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations top 500

People wearing masks at the Edmonton International Airport. (NAB_Photography/Shutterstock)

Alberta health officials reported 1,401 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, as the number of Albertans in hospital with the virus topped 500.

Including the new cases, there are currently 13,495 active COVID-19 infections in Alberta. That’s an increase of 627 from Thursday.

See also:

The province also identified 854 new variant cases, bringing the number of active variant cases to 10,574.

Hospitalizations due to COVID-19 continue to rise in Alberta as well, with 515 people now in hospital with the virus.

This is an increase of 28 from Thursday’s count of 487, and includes 118 individuals in intensive care.

Two new deaths caused by the virus were reported, bringing Alberta’s COVID-19 death toll to 2,390.

Over the course of the pandemic, a total of 256,985 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been found in Alberta. Of those, 241,100 have since recovered.

As of September 2, there have been 5,583,842 doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered in the province, with 78.3% of eligible Albertans having received at least one dose and 70.2% considered fully immunized against the virus.

Earlier on Friday the Alberta government announced that it will start to offer Albertans $100 to get their first and second COVID-19 vaccine as an incentive to boost vaccination rates.

The government also reinstated several public health measures, effective 8 am on Saturday, September 4.