Alberta administers its two-millionth COVID-19 vaccine, 1,558 cases of COVID-19 reported

EDMONTON (660 NEWS) — Alberta has now administered its two-millionth COVID-19 vaccine dose.

The milestone comes after more than 42,000 Albertans received their shot in the last day.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw added that number will only continue to steadily rise with more than 328,000 appointments booked over the next week.

WATCH: Dr. Deena Hinshaw provides the latest update on COVID-19 in Alberta. 

As for case numbers, Hinshaw reported 1,558 new cases of COVID-19.

The new cases come after more than 15,000 tests were completed, giving the province a positivity rate of 10.36 per cent.

There are now 24,586 active cases of the virus in Alberta.

Hospitalizations in the province now sit at 722 with 177 people in the ICU.

An additional nine deaths were reported on Thursday.

Hinshaw began Thursday’s update with an update on changes made to the rules around mask exemptions due to medical conditions.

“Individuals are only exempt from wearing a mask in public places under certain circumstances, these include being unable to put on or take off a mask independently, if someone is eating or drinking while sitting down, if there is an occupation risk, and other specific situations.”

She added there are other medical exemptions that include sensory processing disorders, developmental delay or cognitive impairment, mental illness disorders, facial trauma or recent oral or jaw surgery, or other conditions that can be found here.

“Effective (Thursday), in order to verify someone has a medical condition that make them unable to wear a mask, Albertans with these conditions will require a medical exception letter from a health professional,” she said. “This letter is important to have especially if requested by enforcement officials for not complying with the legal requirement to wear a mask in indoor public spaces.”

Hinshaw added this change isn’t meant to target people unfairly, but to ensure everyone who is capable of wearing a mask complies with public health measures.

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