Alberta health officials report nearly 4,500 COVID-19 cases since December 23

On Monday afternoon, Alberta health officials announced a total of 4,488 new COVID-19 cases and over 64,000 additional conducted tests since Wednesday, December 23.

Today’s update marks the first detailed update since Wednesday, before Christmas. Health officials provided modified summaries of preliminary data on the 24th, 26th, and 27th, including estimated cases, COVID-19 tests conducted, positivity rate, and the increase in hospitalizations and ICU admissions.

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During a live press conference, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced that data between December 23 and 27 were as follows:

Hinshaw points out that while there has been a decline in numbers over the past five days, it’s partially due to fewer people presenting for testing, which “is not surprising over the holidays.”

Early trends, however, show encouraging results from the collective actions of Albertans over the past few weeks, she adds.

Health officials also confirmed that the first case of the COVID-19 variant from the UK has been detected in the province.

Hinshaw says that the “good news” is that the “individual did everything they were supposed to do,” including following quarantine and public health orders. She says that “at this point, there is no evidence that there has been any further spread.”