Ten more deaths in Alberta were attributed to COVID-19 on Wednesday as the province also identified 645 new cases of the disease.
The new cases were discovered after 11,343 tests were conducted on Tuesday, putting the province’s positivity rate at 5.58 per cent.
READ MORE: Over 505K first doses of COVID-19 vaccine administered since Alberta launched vaccine passport
The number of people in hospital intensive care units with the coronavirus rose by one on Wednesday and now sits at 184. However, Alberta Health also noted there were 810 COVID-19 patients in hospital overall on Wednesday, down from 836 the day before.
The total number of active COVID-19 cases in the province also dropped Wednesday, down to 8,733 after being at 9,267 on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Rural Albertans with COVID-19 overrepresented in hospitals due to ‘3 Cs,’ doctors say
The Calgary zone currently has more active cases than any other region in Alberta (2,223), followed by the Edmonton zone (2,025), the North zone (1,828), the Central zone (1,722) and the South zone (928). Seven cases have not been linked to a particular zone.
Hinshaw continues to urge caution, especially on Halloween
With only four days until Halloween, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeted about the approaching day on Wednesday and urged people to be cautious while handing out candy or trick-or-treating.
READ MORE: Hinshaw outlines Halloween safety tips as Alberta records 770 new COVID-19 cases
“If you’re planning on trick-or-treating or handing out candy on Halloween, protect yourself and others from COVID-19,” her tweet reads. “Stay home if you’re feeling unwell, trick-or-treat with only your household and maintain distance when handing out treats.”
More Halloween safety tips can be found here.
Watch below: (From Oct. 21, 2021) Dr. Deena Hinshaw reminds Albertans to follow COVID-19 health measures and offers tips to keep things safe during Halloween.