Active COVID-19 cases in Alberta surge past 700

Alberta reported 82 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the number of active cases in the province to 704.

It's the fourth day in a row that the number of new cases remained above 80. The total number of cases in the province will soonsurpass 9,000, sitting at 8,994.

In recent days, the premier andAlberta's chief medical officer of healthhave expressed concerns that the daily case count has continued to rise recently, with more youngpeople being infected with the virus.

• Alberta's top doctor worried Albertans may have COVID-19 fatigue

The province reported 64 people in hospital, with seven of them in intensive care.

No deaths were reported, leaving the total number of deaths at 163.

The regional breakdown of active cases was:

• Calgary zone: 312, up 17 from Tuesday
• Edmonton zone: 194, down four from Tuesday
• South zone: 81, down 23
• North zone: 53, up three
• Central zone: 61, up 13
• Unknown: three,down three from Tuesday

More than 550,000 Albertans have been tested for the disease.