54 new Omicron cases found as Alberta reports 553 COVID-19 infections

Alberta health officials reported 553 new COVID-19 Friday, with the number of active cases in the province now standing at 4,431.

Currently, there are 344 people in hospital with the virus, a decrease of eight people since Thursday. Of those in hospital, 68 are in intensive care with COVID-19.

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As of December 16, there have been 7,251,484 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered in the province. Of the province’s eligible population, 89.4% have had at least one shot, while 85.1% have had two.

There was one additional death caused by the virus reported since Thursday, bringing Alberta’s COVID-19 death toll to 3,286.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Alberta has seen a total of 341,023 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 333,306 have since recovered.

The province has now counted 54 cases of the Omicron variant.