Alberta Premier Jason Kenney will provide an update Tuesday afternoon on the COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta.
He will be joined at a news conference by Health Minister Tyler Shandro and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw.
The news conference is set to begin at 2:30 p.m. You can watch it live here.
On Monday, Alberta reported 1,240 new cases of COVID-19 and nine more deaths. There are now 19,165 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
Since the pandemic began in March, a total of 860 people have died from the illness.
There were 795 people in hospital, including 151 who are being treated in intensive care units.
Active cases of the illness in Alberta have been slowly declining over the past week. The 1,240 new cases of COVID-19 announced on Monday is the lowest daily increase in new cases since Nov. 27, when the province reported 1,227.
Hinshaw said it’s a positive trend but the situation remains serious.
High case numbers in Alberta have put the health-care system under severe strain, she said.
“We must redouble our efforts and celebrate this early trend downwards by continuing the actions that will eventually bring our hospitalization and ICU numbers low enough to support access to the system for all health-care needs,” Hinshaw said Monday.
‘Another test’
Hinshaw urged Albertans to follow health restrictions and not let down their guard during the holidays.
“This week is another test for our province. … We know that celebrations can quickly turn to outbreaks if we fail to take the right precautions.”
