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In the July news release announcing the review, the province said the process would “enhance Alberta’s capacity to respond to a potential second wave of COVID-19 and any future pandemics.” It touted the need for a strong second-wave response to “wide-scale spread of disease and help jobs and the economy bounce back more quickly.”
After a summer of relatively stagnant COVID-19 spread, Alberta’s infection rates began to rise steadily in late September. Since the start of October, more than 75,000 Albertans have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, with more than 600 dying from the disease — more than twice the toll of the first seven months of the pandemic.
On Christmas Eve, the province announced an estimated 1,100 more cases recorded the previous day from roughly 15,600 tests, for a positivity rate of about seven per cent.
Chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw reported via social media that hospitalizations had also risen, while intensive-care unit admissions remained stable. There were 821 COVID-19 patients in hospital as of Wednesday, of which 146 were in ICU.
The province did not announce whether there were any new fatalities. The next update to case estimates is expected Saturday.
Even as daily case counts in the province begin to dip, Alberta still ranks first in Canada per capita in both active cases and cases detected in the past week. The menacing second wave forced officials to introduce strict, lockdown-like measures lasting through the holiday season.
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