Data from the province shows another St. Albertan has died from COVID-19 this past week, bringing the total number of lives lost to the virus to 49.
An update from the province on Tuesday, Oct. 13, reported the active case count for St. Albert has dropped significantly. The total number of people who have an active case of the virus is 185, compared to 297 reported last week.
The province announced they have seen an encouraging decline in the total number of active cases in Alberta. Overall, Alberta has 15,295 active cases, a drop of 2,544 cases since Oct. 7. The positivity rate for the province is currently at 8.47 per cent.
“Our positivity rate is falling, and it has been below 10 per cent since Oct. 13. These are positive, early signs that the growing number of vaccinated Albertans and our public-health measures are having an impact. But I must caution that they are very early signs. We are not yet through this fourth wave,” said Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw.
Data from the province, current as of Oct. 13, shows there are 1,053 peoople hospitalized with COVID-19 — 242 of whom are in intensive care.
Hinshaw said the hospitalizations seem to have plateaued, but numbers remain significantly higher than any other peaks during the pandemic.
“In fact, we still have 148 more COVID patients in hospital than at the very peak of the second wave. Similarly, there are 59-per-cent More patients in ICU today than at the worst point in the third wave,” said Hinshaw.
There have been 111 more deaths in the province since last week. The province is reporting 2,863 people have died from the virus, including a 14-year-old with complex pre-existing health conditions.
The province is reporting 90.7 per cent of St. Albertans age 12 and up have received at least one dose of the vaccine, while 84.9 per cent of St. Albertans age 12 and up are fully vaccinated.
Province-wide, 85.3 per cent of the population age 12 and up has had their first dose of the vaccine, while 76 per cent of those age 12 and up have had both doses.
“Alberta is doing good work to close in on the national vaccination average, with more than 85 per cent of eligible Albertans having received first-dose coverage. That's up from 78 per cent just over a month ago,” said Premier Jason Kenney
Albertans who are not yet fully vaccinated have until Oct. 14 to get the vaccine to qualify for a one-time-only $100 debit card. The cards are being offered as an incentive to Albertans age 18 and up who have received a valid COVID vaccine between Sept. 3 and Oct. 14.
As of Oct. 11, 152,063 Albertans have registered for the card.
The province also announced a free "AB Covid Records Verifier" app for businesses to use to verify vaccine information from individuals.
When the QR code is scanned, a green check mark will verify the proof of vaccination. It will also display a person’s name and date of birth, which businesses are asked to check against other identification.
The app does not store any personal information and does not require an Internet connection to operate, once downloaded.
“We're asking everyone to get their new record over the next month, and then starting Monday, Nov. 15, the new record with the QR code will be the single acceptable proof of vaccination here in Alberta,” said Minister of Health Jason Copping.
Albertans can get their QR code online at alberta.ca/CovidRecords
