83 per cent of cases identified Monday variants of concern

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — As variant cases take hold of the province, Monday’s COVID-19 numbers show they have almost taken a full grasp of infections in Alberta.

In the last 24 hours, 1,391 new COVID-19 infections were reported in the province with 1,160 of them being variants of concern.

This reinforces the information provided by Dr. Deena Hinshaw when she said if anyone gets COVID-19 now, they should assume it’s the B.1.1.7 variant.

Currently, variants make up nearly 57 per cent of all active cases in Alberta.

UPDATED:

NEW:

– 1391 new COVID cases in Alberta on 12588 tests (11%+)
– 460 in hospital (+9), 104 in ICU (+1)
– 3 new deaths (up to 2043)
– 18,424 active cases (+489)#yeg #yyc #ableg #covid19ab pic.twitter.com/4IGSAgZcsR

— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) April 19, 2021

Another concerning number from Monday’s update was the positivity rate.

With 1,391 infections coming on 12,588 tests, the province saw a positivity rate of 11 per cent.

Currently, there are 18,424 active infections in Alberta.

Hospitalizations are creeping towards 500, with 460 people now in hospital fighting the virus. A 9 person increase from the day prior.

Meanwhile, 104 people are now in the ICU.

Three new deaths were reported on Monday, bringing total deaths from COVID-19 in Alberta to 2,043.

The hospital bed capacity in the province stayed steady over the weekend at 83 per cent.