18 new COVID-19 deaths reported in Alberta as COVID hospitalizations dip

Alberta reported 18 new COVID-19 deaths Monday as the province updatedCOVID data from the past three days.

With the new deaths, the province's pandemic total has reached3,972.

The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 declined by 61 from Friday's update, though the number in intensive care was unchanged.There are now1,103 people in hospital with COVID, including 77 in ICU.

Another 1,113new COVID-19 cases have also been logged, representing new cases for three days:

• March 4:429new cases,2,452 tests, 17.7 per cent positivity.
• March 5:402new cases,2,175 tests, 18.85 per cent positivity.
• March 6:282new cases,1,555 tests, 18.39 per cent positivity.

The seven-day average for test-positivity is about 20.07 per cent.

The number of active cases dropped by 488 from Friday's update. There are now7,158 known active cases in the province, though that number only includes those who test positive on a PCR test, which most Albertans can't access.

As of Monday's update, 86.1 per cent of those five and older in Alberta have received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 81 per cent havehad a second dose.

Of the entire provincial population, about76.1 per cent have had two doses of a COVID vaccine, while35.6 per cent have had three.