Alberta reports 668 new cases of COVID-19, one additional death

Alberta reported 668 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, and one additional death.

Active cases climbed to 7,366, including 1,803 cases identified as variants of concern, or 24.5 per cent of active cases. There were 207 new variant cases identified in the last 24 hours.

Labs completed 11,522 tests for COVID-19 Friday, for a positivity rate of about 5.7 per cent. The number of tests completed was down from 13,308 on Thursday.

Alberta also reported one additional death from the virus, bringing the total number of deaths to 1,980. The death involved a woman in her 80s linked to the outbreak at Churchill Manor in the Edmonton Zone.

Across the province, 283 people were being treated in hospital for the disease on Saturday, including 65 in intensive care unit beds.

The regional breakdown of active cases on Saturday is:

• Calgary zone: 3,407
• Edmonton zone: 1,624
• North zone: 830
• Central zone: 670
• South zone: 805
• Unknown: 30

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health, encouraged Albertans who are eligible to sign up for vaccine appointments.

Albertans born in 1956 or earlier and First Nations, Mtis, and Inuit individuals born in 1971 or earlier can book their vaccine appointments online, by calling 811, or through local pharmacies.

So far, Alberta has administered 577,223 doses of the vaccine as of the end of the day, Friday.

Hinshaw's next live update will be on Tuesday.