Alberta reports 412 new cases of COVID-19, 2 new deaths

Alberta reported 412 new cases of COVID-19 and two new deaths Friday.

Coincidentally, it's the same number of new cases the province reported on Wednesday.

The new cases recorded Friday were detected through 8,673 completed tests with a positivity rate around 4.75 per cent, about the same positivity rate as the seven-day average, which is 4.74 per cent. 

The two new deaths reported are a man in his 60s and a man in his 70s, both from the province's North zone. The total number of COVID-related deaths is now 3,211.

Health Canada has approved Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine for children aged five to 11, and doses are expected to begin arriving in the country on Sunday.  This will soon change the province's vaccine statistics as the eligible population changes from 12 and older to five and older. 

As of the province's latest update, 82.8 per cent of the 12-and-older population is considered fully vaccinated, or about 70.5 per cent of the entire population. CBC's vaccine tracker has adjusted its population statistics for the expanded eligibility. 

Parents are able to pre-register their children for COVID-19 immunization using the Alberta vaccine booking system. More information on pediatric vaccine is available at this Alberta Health Services page. 

About 74 per cent of those in hospital with COVID-19 in Alberta are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated. There are 496 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 93 people being treated in intensive care. In the last month, the number of people in hospital has declined by 432.

Active cases of COVID-19 saw a modest decline from Thursday's update. There are now 5,293 active cases in Alberta. Here's a regional breakdown of active cases:

• Calgary zone: 1,829
• Edmonton zone: 1,148
• North zone: 1,033
• Central zone: 840
• South zone: 441
• Unknown: 2

Active cases in the Calgary zone have increased slightly in the past week (from 1,734 to 1,829) but all other regions have declined.