Alberta reports 411 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths in last 24 hours
On the one-year anniversary of the first COVID-19 case reported in Alberta, 411 new cases were reported around the province on Friday.
This brings the total of active cases up to 4,639, after 10,559 COVID-19 tests were completed in the last 24 hours. Two new deaths in Alberta linked to COVID-19 were also reported on Friday.
Across the province, there are currently 243 in hospital with the disease, and 44 in intensive care.
On Friday, the province also reported 22 new cases of the COVID-19 variant that was first detected in the United Kingdom. The total number of active variant cases in the province is now 563.
The regional breakdown of active cases on Friday was:
Calgary Zone - 1,654
Edmonton Zone - 1,101
North Zone - 1,005
Central Zone - 527
South Zone - 341
Unknown - 11
Since the first case hit Alberta one year ago, 135,196 Albertans have tested positive for the virus, and nearly 2,000 have died.
Alberta's vaccine rollout will soon expand the province announced on Thursday, with people under age 75 eligible to book appointments beginning March 15. The province expects all adults in Alberta will receive their first dose of the vaccine by the end of June, if vaccine shipments arrive as scheduled.
Alberta Health will also soon start using the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. They plan to offer the first 58,500 doses to healthy adults between the ages of 50 and 64. Bookings for this vaccine will begin next week on March 10.
On Friday, Health Canada announced it had approved the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in Canada, providing a fourth vaccine to provinces and territories.
