Alberta reports 73 new cases of COVID-19, 1 new death

A week away from lifting nearly all its COVID-19 restrictions, Alberta reported 73 new cases of COVID-19 and one new death from the disease.

The province identified 73 cases on 5,715 tests Thursday, for a positivity rate around 1.4 per cent. Alberta labs also detected 61 cases of variants of concern.

There were 190 people being treated in hospital for COVID-19, including 50 in intensive care beds.

The death reported by Alberta Health was a man in his 70s from the Calgary zone who died on Wednesday. In Alberta, 2,293 people have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

Active cases continue to drop province-wide. There were 1,580 active cases as of Thursday — the lowest number in Alberta since September 24, 2020.

Here is the regional breakdown of active cases as reported by the province:

• Calgary zone: 814

• North zone: 291

• Edmonton zone: 246

• Central zone: 159

• South zone: 70

As of end of day Wednesday, 3,963,419 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in Alberta. On Wednesday, 52,144 COVID-19 shots were administered, including 47,757 second doses and 4,387 first doses.

About 71.1 per cent of eligible Albertans had received at least one dose of vaccine, while 33 per cent had received both doses.

The province is set to enter Stage 3 of its reopening plan on July 1, marking two weeks since 70 per cent of eligible Albertans had received their first dose.