Alberta sees single-day record high with 1,731 new COVID-19 cases

Alberta reported 1,731 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the most reported in a single day in the province since the pandemic began.

There are now 14,931 active COVID-19 cases in Alberta. This includes 415 people around the province hospitalized due to COVID-19 with 88 in intensive care.

Along with the record high new cases, five more deaths due to COVID-19 have been recorded in Alberta in the last 24 hours.

The five deaths reported on Saturday include a man in his 80s in the Calgary Zone who died on Nov. 16. In the Edmonton Zone, the deaths of a man in his 70s and a woman in her 80s were recorded as well.

The deaths of two women in their 80s from cases linked to COVID-19 outbreaks around the province were also reported on Saturday. One patient had a case of COVID-19 linked to the outbreak at the Edmonton General Care Centre, while the other had a case linked to the outbreak at Generations Calgary, a long-term care home.

As of Saturday afternoon, Alberta Health has linked 22 cases of COVID-19 to an outbreak at the Edmonton Convention Centre, all of which are still active.

This is the first weekend since Alberta introduced new health measures to tackle COVID-19 spread that will remain in place for three weeks. Those measures include banning indoor social gatherings, limiting outdoor gatherings to 10 people, and restricting access to some businesses. Grades 7 to 12 classrooms will be empty during that time as well.

In a press conference on Friday, Dr. Deena Hinshaw encouraged Albertans to dramatically reduce the amount of contact they have with people outside of their own household, and to embrace this challenge this weekend.

"The decisions each of us make this weekend will help determine whether cases fall or rise in the weeks ahead," Hinshaw said. "So please be wise, be safe and let's all look out for each other."

Hinshaw says it will be 10 to 14 days before we see if the new measures can effectively slow surging COVID-19 case numbers.

In Edmonton, peace officers now have the authority to hand out $1,000 fines to people violating Alberta's COVID-19 public health orders, city managers said on Friday.

The active cases in Alberta breaks down among regions as:

• Edmonton zone: 6,968 cases

• Calgary zone: 5,446 cases

• Central zone: 992 cases

• North zone: 802 cases

• South zone: 627 cases

• Unknown: 96 cases