Alberta reports 14 new COVID deaths, hospitalizations see slight decline

The number of patients with COVID-19in Alberta hospital continues to decline.

As of Wednesday there are 1,500 people with COVID in Alberta hospitals, a decline of 38 from Tuesday's update.

That overall number includes 121 patients in intensive care, a decline of two from Tuesday.

Alberta reported 14 more deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the province's total to3,804.

The deaths, which occurred between Feb. 11 and Feb. 15, includeda man in his 20swho lived in the South health zone and did not have pre-existing conditions, Alberta Health said.

The province reported 888 new cases of COVID-19,detected through3,804 PCR tests with a positivity rate around 24.48 per cent. The seven-day average for test positivity is 27.85 per cent.

Although COVID numbers only include positive cases confirmed through PCR testing, which most Albertans can't access, leading indicators are on the decline.

The number of known active cases dropped by nearly 1,400 from Tuesday's update. There arenow17,674 active cases in the province, though the true number is believed to be higher.

As of the update on Wednesday, about80.7 per cent of Alberta's population has had at least one dose of vaccine, while75.4 per cent of Albertans have had two doses and 34.8 per cent have had three.