Alberta reports 788 new cases of COVID-19 since Friday

Alberta health officials have reported 788 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since Friday, and, including the new infections, the number of active cases in the province is now 4,374.

There were 187 COVID-19 cases found in Alberta on December 5, 252 on December 4, and 349 on December 3.

Currently, there are 366 people in hospital with the virus, a decrease of 29 people over the weekend. Of those in hospital, 72 are in intensive care with COVID-19.

Unvaccinated individuals make up 62.57% of COVID-19 hospitalizations, while 4.1% are partially vaccinated and 33.33% are fully vaccinated.

As of December 5, there have been 6,999,288 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered in the province. Of the province’s eligible population, 89% have had at least one shot, while 84.4% are fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine.

There have been five additional deaths caused by the virus reported since Friday, bringing Alberta’s COVID-19 death toll to 3,263.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Alberta has seen a total of 337,180 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 329,543 have since recovered.

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Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, confirmed eight new cases of the Omicron variant in the province on Monday.

This brings the province’s total confirmed cases of Omicron to 11, as one previously found case was determined to be in an out-of-province resident. Dr. Hinshaw noted on Twitter that one of these cases is a household contact, while the rest are returning travellers.

These individuals are isolating, and all appropriate public health follow-up is underway. To date, only mild symptoms have been reported & these individuals are recovering at home. As w/the other cases, these individuals have done nothing wrong & should not be stigmatized.(2/9)

— Dr. Deena Hinshaw (@CMOH_Alberta) December 6, 2021

“Finding additional cases is not unexpected, and identifying these cases early is a testament to the work of our public health lab & front-line public health teams,” read the Twitter thread from Dr. Hinshaw.

She added that the province will continue to monitor the situation carefully and keep Albertans updated.