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Red Deer up to 727 active COVID-19 cases, province records over 2,000 new cases

The province recorded an additional 989 variant of concern cases
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Alberta COVID-19 cases continued to rise Friday as new targeted restrictions went into place in COVID-19 hot spots. (NIAID-RML via AP)

Alberta has reported another day with more than 2,000 additional COVID-19 cases.

The province announced 2,007 new cases Friday, after a daily record of 2,048 cases Thursday. Alberta’s COVID-19 test positivity rate was 10.6 per cent.

There were seven new deaths reported Friday, bringing the province’s death toll to 2,082 since the start of the pandemic. Two of those deaths were men in their 80s, in the Central zone. Both men died on April 28.

The province recorded an additional 989 variant of concern cases and variants now make up 61.6 per cent of the province’s 21,828 active cases.

Across Alberta, there are 649 people in hospital, including 152 in intensive care.

“Numbers also continue to rise across our province It is vital that no matter where we live, we each do our part to follow all public health measures and reduce in-person interactions. Together we can bend the curve one more time,” Alberta chief medical officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeted Friday.

Red Deer jumped five cases up to 727 active cases Friday. The city has 683.3 cases per 100,000 people, the 13th highest in the province.

“COVID-19 continues to be a challenge for our community, one that we must work together to overcome,” said Red Deer’s city manager, Allan Seabrooke, in a release.

“We can understand our community’s frustrations but it is our shared responsibility to do what we can to prevent the spread and pull through these difficult times, together.”

Red Deer and several other regions across the province were placed under additional COVID-19 measures that came into effect Friday. The new, targeted restrictions apply to regions with at least 350 active cases per 100,000 people and a minimum of at least 250 active cases.

These restrictions, which include the cancellation of all indoor sport and fitness activities, will be in place for a minimum of two weeks, or until the case rate falls below the threshold, whichever is longer.

The Central zone sits at 2,425 active cases of COVID-19, with 54 people in hospital, including eight in intensive care.

On the province’s COVID-19 regional active cases list, Red Deer County has 175 active cases of the virus as of Friday, Lacombe County has 140 active and Clearwater County sits at 70 active.

Lacombe has 155 active and Sylvan Lake has 101 active cases, while Olds sits at 110 active. Mountain View County sits at 87 active, Kneehill County has 46 active and Drumheller has 24 active.

Camrose County sits at 59 active cases and the County of Stettler has 49.

Camrose is at 125 active cases and Wetaskiwin has 84 active.