59 new Omicron cases found as Alberta reports 473 COVID-19 infections

Alberta health officials have reported 473 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since Wednesday, with the number of active cases in the province now standing at 4,212.

A total of 119 cases of the Omicron variant have now been detected in the province, including 82 in the Calgary zone and 19 in the Edmonton zone. 59 cases were confirmed on Thursday.

Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, tweeted that the jump in Omicron cases was mostly due to several days of testing.

The 59 new Omicron cases we are reporting today are mostly from three days of samples between Dec 12 and 14. Our total number of cases is now 119. (5/8)

— Dr. Deena Hinshaw (@CMOH_Alberta) December 16, 2021

Currently, there are 352 people in hospital with the virus, a decrease of 10 people since Wednesday. Of those in hospital, 70 are in intensive care with COVID-19.

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As of December 15, there have been 7,223,855 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% have had two.

There were no additional deaths caused by the virus reported since Wednesday, bringing Alberta’s COVID-19 death toll to 3,285, with a revision made from yesterdays total of 3,286.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Alberta has seen a total of 340,470 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 332,973 have since recovered.