Fifteen more COVID-19 deaths have been confirmed in Alberta, according to a tweet by the provincial government on Wednesday.
The province released its latest pandemic figures on Wednesday, summing up the week of June 28 to July 4.
With the latest fatalities, the total number of Albertans whose deaths have been linked to the coronavirus is now at 4,636 since the pandemic began.
Despite the deaths, the number of people in Alberta hospitals with COVID-19 continues to fall, down to 568 from 589 a week earlier. However, the number of COVID-19 patients being treated in intensive-care units increased this week, up to 21 from 13 a week ago.
READ MORE: Number of COVID-19 patients in Alberta ICUs drops to lowest level since October 2020
Out of 7,771 COVID-19 tests completed between June 28 and July 4, Alberta Health said 1,124 resulted in positive tests. Because only a limited number of Albertans are eligible for PCR tests, officials have noted that the true number of people who are positive for COVID-19 is likely far higher than what is being reported.
Since the pandemic began, 589,726 COVID-19 tests in Alberta have resulted in positive tests.
As of July 4, a total of 8,909,619 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in Alberta.
READ MORE: Canadians urged to get COVID-19 booster shots ahead of potential fall wave
Late last month, Canada’s chief public health officer Theresa Tam said Omicron subvariants that are circulating — BA.4 and BA.5 — are more transmissible and better able to evade immunity than previous subvariants, and noted cases would likely rise in the next few weeks.
She and other health officials have noted that 40 per cent of Canadians have still not received a booster shot following their primary two vaccine doses, putting the country behind other G7 nations when it comes to three doses.
— With a file from Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press