Alberta Health confirmed the highest increase of the novel coronavirus over a 24-hour period Saturday afternoon with 1,026 new cases in the province along with an additional three deaths.
Currently there are 256 people in the hospital, with 54 of those in intensive care.
Two of the deaths reported Saturday were in the Edmonton zone: a man in his 50s and a man in his 70s.
The third death was a man in his 60s from the Calgary Zone. His death was linked to the outbreak at Waverley House Personal Care Home.
There have been a total of 401 deaths in Alberta connected to the coronavirus.
The province said it will not be providing an update on case numbers by zone, including recoveries, until Monday.
As of Nov. 12, there were 8,593 active cases of COVID-19 in Alberta. The majority of those cases continue to be reported in the major centres, with 3,572 in the Edmonton zone and 3,553 in the Calgary zone.
There were 353 cases in the Central zone, 512 in the South zone and 553 reported in the North zone. There were also 50 Albertans with COVID-19 not affiliated to a specific zone.
On Thursday, Premier Jason Kenney announced new restrictions for two weeks to help stop the rising case numbers and hopefully stop the health system from being overwhelmed.
Indoor group fitness classes and team sports will be prohibited for two weeks from Nov. 13-27, Jason Kenney said. This applies to the Calgary area, Edmonton area, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge and Red Deer.
Restaurants and pubs in the above areas, as well as areas on “enhanced status” must stop liquor sales by 10 p.m. and close by 11 p.m. This measure will also be in place from Nov. 13-27.
Kenney also said amateur singing, dancing and theatre groups will also have to take a two-week break when enhanced pandemic measures begin Friday.
“This two-week push is, I believe, our last chance to avoid more restrictive measures that I and most Albertans desperately want to avoid,” Kenney said.
–– With files from Caley Ramsay, Global News