COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations in Alberta continue to climb sharply.
There were 33 more deaths related to the virus in the seven days from Sept. 20-26, compared with 24 a week earlier. Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, 4,905 Albertans have died from COVID and its complications.
The number of people in hospital also continues to climb, with 980 in hospital, compared with 843 a week earlier. Those needing intensive care jumped to 39 from 26 a week earlier.
There were 1,416 new cases in the past week with an 18.7 per cent positivity rate.
In the Central Zone, there are 99 people in hospital — up six from last week — with two in ICU — down two from the previous week.
Forty new cases were identified — up from 33 — in the City of Red Deer over the seven-day period ending this past Monday, according to geospatial mapping on the provincial government’s website.
Over that same time period, 13 cases were identified in Red Deer County, three in Lacombe County, and seven in the City of Lacombe.
Over that same time period, Mountain View County recorded five, Sylvan Lake had two, Clearwater County 10, six were identified in Stettler County and 21 were reported in Olds.
The City of Camrose added eight new cases, Drumheller had none, Camrose County had one and Kneehill County had no new cases.
Wetaskiwin County, including Maskwacis, had nine new cases over the past seven days, while Rimbey and west Ponoka County and parts of Lacombe County had 11 and Ponoka and East Ponoka County had three.