On Tuesday, Alberta recorded 465 new COVID-19 cases, including 197 variants of concern. That means variants make up about 18 per cent of Alberta’s active cases.
Alberta’s COVID-19 positivity rate sat at about 6.6 per cent.
There were 290 people in hospital for COVID-19, 53 of whom were in intensive care.
Read more: Alberta sees uptick in new COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, variants but no deaths Friday
Three additional deaths related to COVID-19, all with comorbidities, were reported to Alberta Health in the last 24 hours.
They include two fatalities linked to the outbreak at Churchill Manor: a man in his 90s and a woman in her 80s.
A man in his 80s linked to the outbreak at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre from the Central zone also died.
“Case numbers may fluctuate from day to day,” chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeted.
“We need to see a downward trend in indicators, some of which, like hospitalizations, lag.
“This means that the actions we take today will reflect in the numbers we see one or two weeks from now,” she said.
“No matter how badly we want this pandemic to be over, it isn’t quite yet. But we all have what it takes to get through this. I know it’s hard but please continue to be careful and keep following all current public health measures.”
As of March 23, 497,280 vaccine doses had been administered in Alberta.
Hinshaw said Tuesday there was a delay in picking up the next Moderna vaccine shipments from Belgium, which will delay their arrival in Alberta “by a day or two.”
“While delays are disappointing, this should not impact any existing bookings,” Hinshaw tweeted.
“Some pharmacies have been cancelling or rebooking appointments because of last week’s delay in Moderna vaccine. But these two are unrelated.
“I know it’s frustrating to have delays, and we’re frustrated too. This is unavoidable when there’s a limited supply.
“The good news is that everyone will get a vaccine soon, and we will have enough to immunize every adult by the end of June,” Hinshaw said.
Read more: Alberta not lifting any COVID-19 restrictions amid rising hospitalization numbers: Shandro
On Monday, the province announced it would not be easing any public health restrictions given the rising case numbers, variants of concern and hospitalization numbers.
Alberta announced Tuesday it was expanding its rapid test program, inviting public, private and not-for-profit employers and service providers across Alberta to apply for the free COVID-19 tests.
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