Positivity rate jumps as hospitalizations decline
Posted May 23, 2021 4:23 pm.
CALGARY (CityNews) – With 563 new cases announced Sunday, Alberta has dropped below 15,000 active cases for the first time in weeks.
The positive results came from 6,944 tests, giving the province a positivity rate of about 8 per cent.
That’s a spike in the rate of positive results among tests, with the positivity rate on Friday at 7.4 per cent, and on Saturday at 6.7 per cent.
Here is a summary of today’s #COVID19AB numbers: We have identified 563 new cases and completed 6,944 tests over the past 24 hours. We have also identified 273 variant of concern cases. Our positivity rate is 8%. (1/3)
— Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health (@CMOH_Alberta) May 23, 2021
Active cases sit at 14,533, with Calgary accounting for nearly half (6,360) and Edmonton about one-quarter (3,562).
Hospitalization rates are also on a steep decline, from 617 patients on Saturday to 581 on Sunday.
Intensive care patients are also slowly decreasing, with 162 Albertans currently in ICU.
Six deaths were reported, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths in the province to 2,176.
About 46,000 vaccines were administered on Saturday.
Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw says she will provide her next live update later this coming week.