(The Canadian Press)

By Tiffany Goodwein

COVID-19 update: Province confirms 559 new cases, including 99 variants

Mar 20, 2021 | 5:14 PM

EDMONTON, AB — There are 556 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed across the province today, and of those, 99 are variants of concern, Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Saturday.

The total active case count province-wide stands at 5,618.

A total of 9,997 tests were completed over a 24/ hour period. The provincial positivity rate is 5.2 per cent.

The province said 279 people are hospitalized for the virus, including 47 in intensive care.

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Four additional deaths were also confirmed Saturday.

Across Southeast Alberta active case counts remain low.

In Medicine Hat, there are seven active cases. A total of 543 people have recovered, and there are 17 recorded deaths.

Cypress County has one active case and 145 recoveries.

The County of Newell has zero active cases, while the city of Brooks has two active cases.

Nearby County of Forty Mile has four active cases, 115 recoveries, and three recorded deaths.

The Municipal District of Taber has 10 active cases, 335 recoveries, and six recorded deaths.

Further southwest, case numbers remain much higher in comparison.

Lethbridge County has 35 active cases, 541 recoveries, and eight deaths.

The City of Lethbridge has 502 active cases, 2247 recoveries, and 28 recorded deaths.

Earlier in the day, Dr. Deena Hinshaw took to Twitter to dispel information about vaccines.

She said after a thorough review consisting of Health Canada and the European Medicine Agency, the AstraZeneca vaccine was found not to have caused blood clots.

She also stated that the risks of contracting COVID-19 are far more likely than developing a blood clot through the vaccine. Hinshaw stressed that an unvaccinated person age 20-49 has a 500x higher risk of dying from COVID-19.

She further encouraged all Albertans to get their vaccines when eligible.