Alberta confirms 1,413 new cases of COVID-19, 25 additional deaths

EDMONTON (660 NEWS) – Alberta has confirmed 1,413 new cases of COVID-19 and 25 additional deaths within the province.

A total of 815 Albertans have now died from complications with COVID-19.

NEW:

– 1413 new COVID cases on 19500 tests (7.4 % +)
– 759 in hospital, 141 in ICU
– 25 new deaths reported, now up to 815#yeg #yyc #ableg #covid19ab

— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) December 18, 2020

The most recently reported deaths took place from Dec. 4 to 17 and included 11 from the Calgary Zone, nine from the Edmonton Zone, two from the Central Zone, two from the North Zone, and one from the South Zone.

There are 19,607 active cases within the province, with 759 in hospital and 141 in ICU.

Active cases by region:

Edmonton zone: 9376 (-149)
Calgary zone: 6971 (-72)
Central: 1473 (+11)
South: 511 (-30)
North: 1201 (-13)#yeg #yyc #ableg #covid19ab pic.twitter.com/6FNuN0SdtP

— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) December 18, 2020

There are currently 433 schools within the province with outbreaks or alerts. There are 1,971 active cases within schools.

Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw says some numbers being reported are positive.

The current number of active cases in Alberta is the lowest since Dec. 5.

“We are starting to see some early positive signs in our province. On Tuesday of this week, there were 1,286 new cases of COVID-19 identified. That was the lowest daily total since Nov. 26.”

She says the provincial positivity rate fluctuates from day to day but is on an overall downward trend.

However, she says the pandemic is far from over.

“We expect that hospitalizations and ICU admissions will continue to rise in the coming weeks, as these are lagging indicators.”

She adds that the health system continues to feel the strain of the pandemic, but encourages Albertans to have hope.

“But what these numbers show us is that together we have the power to protect our communities and change our future.”