Alberta's chief medical officer of health started her news conference on Wednesday by speaking about the toll the pandemic is taking on people's nerves.

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.

There are now 8,593 active cases of COVID-19 in Alberta.

Opposition Leader Rachel Notley described the Alberta government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic as inadequate on Thursday.

For provinces like Alberta, currently seeing a sharp rise in transmission, the strategy is on the table.

Effective immediately, any area under the province's "watch" category is subject to new COVID-19 measures.

The province's chief medical officer of health said Thursday that Alberta has confirmed about 800 new cases of COVID-19  over the past 24 hours.

There are now 6,230 active cases of COVID-19 in Alberta, 164 people in hospital, 30 of those in intensive care units.

In response to the rising COVID-19 case numbers in Alberta since Friday, the province has introduced new limits on social gatherings.

There are now eight COVID-19 cases linked to an outbreak of the illness at the staff accommodations for a luxury hotel in the Canadian Rockies, according to Alberta Health.