LETHBRIDGE, AB – Active COVID-19 cases continue to decline in Alberta.
As of Monday, there were 11,096 active cases which is a drop of 827 from Sunday’s data.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw says a total of 456 people tested positive for the virus over the past day for a provincial positivity rate of 5.6 percent.
She says “our positivity rate is declining but it’s still far above the 1-3 percent we saw for most of the summer and fall. Numbers fluctuate on a daily basis, but we continue to see an overall decline in our testing numbers from last month.”
Hinshaw says the decline in testing may be due to fewer people feeling sick, however, she’s reminding anyone who may be experiencing symptoms to book a test.
The number of active COVID-19 cases in Lethbridge has also declined after almost two weeks of increases.
On Jan. 6 there were 80 active cases which gradually grew to 143 on Jan.17.
The latest data released on Tuesday, shows that on Jan. 18, there were 141 active cases in the city.
After a similar growth pattern, active cases in Cardston County also showed a slight decline from 108 to 105.
There were five new cases reported in Lethbridge over the past day and three new cases each in Lethbridge County and Cardston County.
A total of 17 fatalities were reported to Alberta Health Services in the past day.
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Health Minister Tyler Shandro also issued a statement Tuesday afternoon on the latest changes in the amount of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine coming to Canada.
He says “I am extremely concerned by the announcement that Pfizer is even further decreasing the amount of COVID-19 vaccine coming to Canada from its factory in Belgium, with no doses expected to arrive next week and further anticipated reductions in the two weeks following. With fewer vaccines arriving, we have no choice but to focus on delivering second doses for those who have already been vaccinated. All new first dose appointments for eligible health-care workers are being postponed. Some second dose appointments will also need to be rescheduled in the coming weeks.”
As of Jan. 18, Alberta had administered 92,315 doses of COVID-19 vaccine.