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Alberta sets one-day COVID-19 case record

Big jump in COVID cases due to Omicron variant
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COVID-19 graphic

Alberta set a one-day record with 2,775 COVID-19 cases identified on Wednesday.

The previous record was set on Dec. 23 with 2,484 cases.

Alberta’s test positivity rate was about 29.9 per cent over the past 24 hours, with 17,396 active cases of COVID-19 reported. The province also reported 11 new deaths due to the implications of COVID-19, bringing the death toll to 3,310. Two of those deaths were reported in Central zone.

“The positivity rates we are seeing are higher than before, showing the transmissibility of Omicron,” tweeted Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw. “This is why anyone who feels ill should stay home and away from others until they are feeling better.”

There are 8,404 active variant cases in the province, with 7,025 confirmed cases of Omicron, up 4,388 since Dec. 23.

Provincially, there are 349 people in hospital infected with COVID-19 and 57 in intensive care.

Updated numbers were provided for the last few days of cases on Wednesday. There were 2,010 on Dec. 23, 2,484 on Dec. 24, 1,568 on Dec. 25, 686 on Dec. 26 and 1,395 on Dec. 27.

There were 522 new cases of the Omicron variant recorded in the past 24 hours across the province, bringing the total to 2,131 and there are now 33 total in the Central zone. Just a week ago, there were 119 total Omicron cases in Alberta.

The Central zone has 687 active cases of COVID-19, with 74 people infected in hospital and six in the ICU. There have been 416 deaths in the zone to date due to the implications of COVID-19.

Red Deer now has 198 active cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, more than double the 96 recorded on Dec. 23, according to geospatial mapping on the provincial government’s website. The number of people who have died in Red Deer remains at 84.

Stettler County has 33 active cases, Clearwater County has 16, Mountain View County has 33, Red Deer County has 45, the City of Lacombe has 36, Lacombe County has 27, Olds has 25 and Sylvan Lake has 24.

Wetaskiwin, including Maskwacis, has 55 active cases, while Ponoka, including East Ponoka County, has 10 and Rimbey, including West Ponoka County and part of Lacombe County, has 11.

The City of Camrose has 40, Kneehill County has 17, Camrose County has six and Drumheller has 53.