Record-setting 2,775 COVID-19 cases reported in Alberta, pushing total active cases to 17,396
CBC
Alberta recorded its highest single-day increase of new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday, in a post-holiday update that shows active cases in the province more than doubling in a week.
A record-setting 2,775 new cases were reported Wednesday, bringing Alberta's active total to almost 17,400. Less than one week ago, on Dec. 23, the number of active cases stood at 8,359.
Before this month, the long-standing single-day record for new cases was about 2,300 on April 30.
The highly contagious Omicron variant is driving rising infections across Canada, with other provinces also setting records.
"The positivity rates we are seeing are higher than before, showing the transmissibility of Omicron. This is why anyone who feels ill should stay home and away from others until they are feeling better," Alberta's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said in a post on social media.
The confirmed cases announced on Wednesday do not include positive results from at-home rapid antigen tests. The province has urged Albertans to avoid getting a PCR test to protect the supply for specific groups of people, including health-care workers.
Hinshaw said it's critical that Albertans follow public health measures, stay home when sick and get vaccinated against COVID-19 with all three shots to slow the growth of Omicron.
Alberta Health data shows Wednesday's cases come from about 9,400 tests, representing a positivity rate of 30 per cent.
That rate is an unprecedented high.
Positivity rates in Alberta rarely passed 13 per cent before recent weeks. The current seven-day average is 20.55 per cent.
The government also confirmed COVID-19 cases identified between Dec. 23 to 27 after releasing preliminary numbers during a Tuesday news conference with Hinshaw and Premier Jason Kenney.
About 3,150 infections were logged, breaking down as follows:
Despite the skyrocketing number of infections driven by the now-dominant Omicron variant, hospitalization numbers are creeping up but much more slowly.
Wednesday's update stated there are 349 people in hospital with COVID-19, an increase of 26 from the previous day. The hospitalizations include 57 people in intensive care, which is up by seven from the day before.
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