Alberta health officials have identified 77 new cases of COVID-19, the most in a 24-hour stretch since May 10.
Alberta’s chief medical officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw did not hold a press briefing Friday to explain the jump in cases.
The latest update increases Alberta’s total case count to 8,596. That includes 7,844 people who have recovered from the respiratory virus, up by 70 since Thursday.
The death toll has fallen back to 160. According to CTV News, who received confirmation from Alberta Health, “one of the deaths reported at the Misericordia has been determined to not have COVID-19 as a contributing cause of death.”
The Misericordia Community Hospital in Edmonton is experiencing a full facility outbreak, which has now resulted in five deaths.
Around the province, there are now 592 active cases of COVID-19. The Calgary zone has 228 active cases (up by eight since Thursday), while the Edmonton zone has 203 (down by 12). Fifty people are in hospital (up by four), which includes nine people in intensive care (up by two).
To date, health officials have completed 514,970 tests for COVID-19 in Alberta, after performing 7,801 tests in the province’s latest 24-hour stretch.
Since June 12, Alberta has been in Stage 2 of its reopening plan, which has allowed more recreational activities to resume, among other eased restrictions.
