Alberta reports 14 new COVID-19 deaths as hospitalizations near 1,600

Alberta reported 14 more deaths related to COVID-19 on Wednesday as the number of patients in hospital with the illness continues to increase.

There have now been 3,593 COVID-19-related deaths in Alberta. The province's rate of deaths over the past 14 days is still lower than the national average, but it is trending upward.

Currently, 1,598 patients are being treated in hospital with COVID-19, a slight increase from Tuesday's update when there were 1,585 patients. Both numbers are the highest the province has ever reported.

There are now 106 ICU patients who have tested positive for COVID, a decrease of three from Tuesday. 

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Tuesday that the province's COVID hospitalizations may be beginning to plateau. Although the hospitalizations numbers have grown over the past few days, they are not increasing as quickly as in previous weeks.

Alberta reported 3,024 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, detected through 7,643 PCR tests with a positivity rate of 39.97 per cent. The seven-day average for test-positivity is 36.38 per cent.

There are now 34,877 active cases confirmed through a PCR test, though the true number is likely much higher since most Albertans can not access PCR testing. 

As of the province's latest update, about 80.5 per cent of Albertans have had at least one dose of COVID vaccine, while 74.6 per cent have had two and 33.3 per cent have had three. About 78 per cent of Canadians are considered fully vaccinated and 41.3 per cent of Canadians have had a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.