Alberta reports one death, 72 new cases of COVID-19

Alberta reported 72 new cases of COVID-19 and one additional death on Saturday.

The total number of cases in Alberta grew to 6,587, according to the province, of which 1,084 were active. Sixty people were in hospital, eight in intensive care.

A total of 5,377 Albertans have recovered from the disease.

The latest death wasa manin his 90s from the Intercare Brentwood Care Centre in Calgary zone. Ninety-two of the total 126 deaths due to the disease were residents in continuing care facilities.

A regional breakdown of cases as of Saturday shows the impact of COVID-19 in different parts of the province:

• Calgary zone: 876 active, 3,553 recovered
• South zone: 111 active, 1,078 recovered
• Edmonton zone: 60 active, 446 recovered
• North zone: 17 active, 196 recovered
• Central zone: 13 active, 85 recovered
• Unknown: 7 active, 19 recovered

Calgary listed an additional six active cases in the previous 24 hours while the South zone added five. Two more active cases were listed as Unknown. All other zones saw a decrease or no change.

A total of 209,317 tests have been completed for COVID-19, according to Saturday'srelease. In the previous 24 hours, 4,594 tests were performed.

Limits increase ahead of long weekend

On Friday, Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced Alberta was increasing limits on outdoor gatherings to 50 people from 15 as long as proper physical distancing is maintained. However, indoor gatherings are still limited to fewerthan 15.

Hinshaw, who has become a fixture in Albertans' daily routines over the past couple of months, said she plans to cut back on the number of news conferences she holds, starting next week.

• Outdoor gatherings of up to 50 people allowed as Alberta eases COVID-19 rules

Although provincial parks were open during the long weekend, Saturday'sreleasenoted that some facilities were closed, campfires were not allowed, and camping was not scheduled to openuntil June 1.