COVID-19 hospitalizations rise as Alberta confirms 817 new cases Thursday

Alberta Health said Thursday it identified 817 new cases of COVID-19 over the last 24 hours out of 9,971 tests.

That’s a jump from the 689 cases reported Wednesday, which was already the highest single-day increase in COVID-19 cases in almost three months.

The province’s positivity rate continued climbing, reaching about 8.3 per cent on Thursday.

There are 6,367 active COVID-19 cases in Alberta.

There are now 198 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, a jump of 14 in just one day. There are 43 Albertans in ICU, a drop from 48 the day before.

Alberta Health data indicates the majority of individuals facing severe outcomes related to the virus are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.

Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 18, 93.8 per cent of COVID-19 cases were in unvaccinated Albertans or those who had their first dose less than two weeks prior to infection.

Between Jan. 1 and Aug. 18, 91.7 per cent of hospitalized cases were unvaccinated Albertans or those who were diagnosed within two weeks of their first dose.

1:26 Alberta extends pandemic protocols for 6 more weeks

Four additional COVID-related deaths were reported to Alberta Health the last 24 hours, bringing the provincial death toll to 2,342.

Get weekly health news

Receive the latest medical news and health information delivered to you every Sunday.

Sign up for weekly health newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

As of Thursday, 77.1 per cent of Albertans 12 and older had received at least one dose of vaccine while 68.3 per cent had received two doses.

READ MORE: Alberta keeping COVID-19 measures for another six weeks

The Opposition is calling on the premier to make himself available Friday to address the numbers and answer questions.

Deputy leader Sarah Hoffman said the NDP is urging the UCP to halt its plan to stop testing, tracing and isolating COVID-19 cases.

“The province needs to actually acknowledge that the numbers are heading in the wrong direction,” she said.

“Testing, tracing and isolation of positive cases is only fair when half the kids going back to school aren’t eligible to be vaccinated yet.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Testing, tracing and isolation of positive cases is only fair when half the kids going back to school aren't eligible to be vaccinated yet.

“His commitment that they will not end this… should be number one.”

Hoffman said the NDP is calling on the Kenney government to release the COVID-19 data and modelling it said guided its initial decision to lift the measures.

She said Albertans deserve transparency and the data should be made public — not just to doctors — but to everyone.

“We haven’t seen numbers like this in some time,” she said. “I think the government needs to take these signs that we’re seeing right now very seriously, the trends we’re seeing very seriously.”

During a town hall with physicians and pharmacists on Wednesday night, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said the scientific evidence and data the Alberta government said was used to justify the removal of COVID-19 protocols would not be released as planned.

The data was supposed to be released to town hall attendees but Hinshaw said it is taking longer to compile given the decision last week to keep protocols such as masking, testing and isolating in place until at least Sept. 27.

“We just haven’t had the chance to finish synthesizing and putting together the evidence summary for public release yet,” Hinshaw said.

“That work is underway. It is a priority.”