By Chris Brown

More than 200 variant cases reported province-wide among 692 new cases today

Mar 24, 2021 | 4:13 PM

With nearly 700 new COVID-19 cases in Alberta today, the province’s top doctor says there isn’t one single sector or activity that is driving the recent increase.

“We have seen indoor social gatherings, outbreaks and people working while symptomatic all play a role, along with many other factors,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw on Wednesday.

She said the recent growth is the result of little moments in many different settings when people are in close contact with others and give the virus opportunities to transmit.

“This has always been one of the biggest challenges with COVID19 and variants make it even more difficult,” the chief medical officer of health said.

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More than 200 cases of variants of concern were identified in the past 24 hours, and variants account for about 19 per cent of all active cases.

The province has also identified the first two community-acquired cases of the P1 (Brazilian) variant. They were reported yesterday and follow-up is ongoing, said Hinshaw.

Hinshaw said a change in reporting of variant of concern cases will speed up the reporting. It will likely cause a one-time instance of two days being reported on Thursday.

There are eight active cases of COVID-19 in Medicine Hat on Wednesday.

The city now has had 571 total cases – the eight active, 546 recovered and there have been 17 deaths.

There are no new cases in the city today and two new recoveries.

Across the province, there are 6,534 active cases, up 303 from Tuesday, and 135,040 recovered cases, up 377.

Alberta’s total cases from the start of the pandemic is 143,547.

There have been 2,110 variant cases ID’d in the province, 202 new today. There are 99 in the South Zone.

There are 692 total new cases in the province today.

There are now 285 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 53 of which are in ICU, and 1,973 deaths.

The province completed 12,835 tests in the past 24 hours.

The positivity rate is about 5.3 per cent.

Alberta has delivered 512,248 doses of vaccine.

Hinshaw’s next update will be on Thursday afternoon.

She continues to urge people to follow all the public health measures in place, “even when we don’t feel like,” and staying home and getting tested when sick and wearing a mask when out.

Hinshaw said in some ways they matter more than ever “because we are getting so close to the end of this pandemic thanks to vaccines.”

She also sought to reassure people about the safety of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Blood clots have been reported in some people who’ve received the vaccine.

“It’s also important to remember that COVID-19 infection significantly increases the risk of blood clots and other serious health issues,” she said.

Hinshaw said an unvaccinated Albertan between 20 and 49 years old has on average a 500 times higher risk of dying from COVID-19 after testing positive than having one of the rare types of blood clots being seen after vaccination.

An outbreak is listed on the provincial website at the Valleyview long-term care facility in Medicine Hat. The outbreak was opened on Feb. 12. It’s the only local outbreak currently listed.

There are 7,653 cases in the South Zone. There are 784 active cases and 6,785 recovered. The death total in the zone is at 104.

An AHS spokesperson told CHAT News on Monday that AHS South Zone currently has 39 COVID-19 positive individuals in hospital. There are 34 at Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge, with eight of those in the ICU. Medicine Hat Regional Hospital has three inpatients, with none in the ICU. The Cardston Health Centre has two inpatients.

There are no local schools on either “Alert” or “Outbreak” status on the provincial reporting site.

The website Support Our Students is tracking instances of cases in schools across the province.

Cypress County has totaled 147 cases – one active case and the rest recovered.

The County of Forty Mile has 124 total cases. There are five active cases, 116 recovered and there have been three deaths.

The MD of Taber has 364 total cases — 22 active cases, 336 recovered and there have been six deaths.

Special Areas No. 2 has 60 total cases – 16 active cases, 43 recovered and there has been one death.

Brooks has 1,366 total cases — two active cases and 1,350 are recovered. Brooks has recorded 14 deaths.

The County of Newell has a total of 162 cases — two active cases, 158 recovered and there have been two deaths.

The County of Warner has 178 total cases. There are 14 active cases, 161 are recovered cases and there have been three deaths in the county.

The City of Lethbridge has a total of 2,904 cases. There are 508 active cases, 2,367 recovered and there have been 29 deaths. Lethbridge County has 632 cases, 79 active cases, 545 recovered and there have been eight deaths.

The figures on alberta.ca are “up-to-date as of end of day March 23, 2021.”

Read the full March 24 update from the province here.

Saskatchewan has a total of 32,181 cases, 1,565 considered active. There are 30,196 recovered cases and there have been 420 COVID-19 deaths in the province.

Saskatchewan has delivered 151,507 doses of vaccine.