Editor’s note: A previous version of the story stated 38 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Friday. The correct number of new cases in Alberta on Friday is 37, the changes have been made in the story to reflect the correct information.
Alberta Health confirmed 37 new COVID-19 cases Friday, which brings active cases in the province to 509.
Thirty-seven people are in hospital, eight of those are in intensive care. The province reported no additional deaths Friday.
The Edmonton zone has the largest number of active cases in the province at 241.
Edmonton is also dealing with an active outbreak at the Misericordia Hospital, where nine patients and seven staff members have tested positive for the virus, AHS said Friday.
Edmonton surpassed the Calgary Zone with active case numbers on Sunday, however, the two zones’ totals have remained close since.
As of Friday, the Calgary zone has 208 active COVID-19 cases.
According to AHS, the Calgary zone has a population of 1.5 million people and the Edmonton zone has a population of 1.2 million people.
As for the rest of the province, the North zone has 31 active cases, the South zone has 23 and the Central zone has three. There are an additional three active cases in an unknown zone.
On Thursday the province announced Albertans without symptoms will be able to get tested at 20 community pharmacies, mostly in Calgary and Edmonton.
“This is a step that just makes sense,” Health Minister Tyler Shandro said in a news conference Thursday.
“Pharmacists are highly trained health professionals and pharmacies support the health of residents in their communities every day.”
Testing has continued to expand across Alberta as the province moves through Phase 2 of its relaunch plan, slowly reopening the economy amid the pandemic.