Alberta reports 452 new COVID-19 cases, 7 additional deaths Monday

Alberta identified 452 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, as well as seven additional deaths from the disease.

Active cases of COVID-19 in Alberta now sit at 13,608.

There are 569 people in hospital with COVID-19, 161 of whom are being treated in intensive care. Hospitalizations have decreased slightly from Sunday when a total of 581 people were being treated, 162 of whom in the ICU.

The new cases Monday came after 5,085 tests were completed, putting the province’s positivity rate at about 8.8 per cent.

All of the deaths reported to Alberta Health in the last 24 hours included comorbidities.

Two of the deaths occurred in the Calgary zone: a woman in her 20s and a man in his 50s.

A man in his 60s and a man in his 70s died in the North zone. A woman in her 60s died in the Edmonton zone. A man in his 80s and a man in his 90s died in the Central zone.

Alberta’s death toll from COVID-19 has now hit 2,183.

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As of May 23, Alberta had administered 2,532,143 doses of COVID-19 vaccine and 353,292 Albertans are fully vaccinated with two doses.

So far, about 7.9 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated and 48.7 per cent of Albertans have received one dose of vaccine.

Monday’s COVID-19 data was released online, and the chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeted she would provide another in-person update later this week.

On Tuesday, students across the province will head back to in-person learning, apart from those enrolled at schools within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

The decision for students to return to class was made by the education minister last week. At the time, Adriana LaGrange said because COVID-19 cases in the RMWB have not trended down as quickly as other regions, students there will continue to learn online for an additional week. The target date for students in this region to return to the classroom is May 31.

The premier has hinted that the plan to ease restrictions in Alberta is on the way.

Taking to Twitter to wish people a happy Victoria Day, Premier Jason Kenney said the government will have “exciting news this week about the great Alberta summer that lies ahead.”