Hospitalizations surpass 200, active infections of COVID-19 rise to 6,709 in Alberta

CALGARY — Alberta reported 749 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday after more than 9,000 tests were completed — a positivity rate of around 8.3 per cent.

Active cases in the province continue to rise, with 6,709 active infections, an increase of 342 from Thursday.

NEW:

– 749 new COVID cases on 9005 tests (8.3%+)
– 1 new death
– 221 in hospital (+23), incl 48 in ICU (+5)
– 6709 active cases (+342)#yeg #yyc #ableg #Covid19ab pic.twitter.com/0uKjNH4boV

— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) August 20, 2021

Hospitalizations in Alberta also saw a jump over the last day, with 221 people now in hospital, an increase of 23 from the day prior.

There are now 48 people in the ICU. One additional death was reported on Friday.

Of those in hospital, 176 are unvaccinated — while 45 of the 48 people in the ICU have also not received a vaccine dose.

Looking at active infections in the province — Calgary remains the location with the most active cases with 1,601 — while Edmonton now has 1,479.

Banff remains the province’s per capita hot spot with 1092.8 active cases per 100,000 people

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On the vaccination front, 77.2 per cent of eligible Albertans have now received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 68.5 per cent are fully vaccinated.

To date, more than 5.47 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Alberta.