COVID-19 cases rising in northern Alberta as province reports eight more deaths

Northern Alberta continues to see an increase in COVID-19 infections, with more than 1,000 active cases across the health zone.

The province reported 399 new cases on Thursday, a slight decline from the day before, while hospitalization numbers dropped below 300 for the first time in many weeks.

Alberta Health also reported another 32 new cases of a highly contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in the United Kingdom. The province has now confirmed 348 cases of variant B117, andcontinues to have seven cases of B1351, first identified in South Africa.

There were 4,484 active cases in the province, with 280 people were treated in hospitals for the illness, including 56 in ICU beds, according to the latest update released by Alberta Health.

Another eight deaths were reported to Alberta Health over the last 24 hours, including four that dated back to January.

The three most recent deaths, which happened during the past week, involved a man and a woman in their 40s and a woman in her 30s.

The regional breakdown of active cases on Thursday was:

• Calgary zone: 1,510, a decline of 54 from the day before.
• North zone: 1,016, an increase of 74from the day before.
• Edmonton zone: 897, a decline of 28from the day before.
• Central zone: 737, a decline of22 from the day before.
• South zone: 319, a decline of 34 from the day before.
• Unknown: five, an increase of three from the day before.