Alberta COVID-19 hospitalizations fall below 500

A registered nurse works with a COVID-19 patient on the Intensive Care Unit at Foothills Medical Centre on Sept. 10, 2021. (Alberta Health Services)

Alberta now has 486 people in hospital with COVID-19, 11 of whom are receiving care in ICUs.

That is a decrease of 32 hospitalizations and one ICU admission compared to last week's update.

The last time Alberta's hospitalization numbers were this low was Jan. 3, 2022.

Alberta Health data is routinely updated for accuracy and to account for reporting delays. Last week’s hospital numbers were retroactively increased from 518 to 541.

According to the province, 221 of the 541 people in hospital with COVID-19 last week were hospitalized for reasons directly related to the virus, while the other 320 people were admitted for other reasons, but incidentally tested positive. In the ICU, 46 per cent of patients were being treated because of COVID-19.

Alberta’s total number of COVID-19-related deaths went down by three. Eighteen deaths were retroactively removed while 15 deaths were added. Of the new deaths, four belong to this week.

Since its last data update, Alberta Health has counted 388 new COVID-19 cases in 4,488 PCR tests. That is an increase of 41 cases and a decrease of 77 tests compared to last week's update.

The number of new cases is likely higher because of testing limitations and because the province doesn't count positive results from rapid tests.

The average positivity rate is now at 9.17 per cent.

HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

On Mar. 13, 2021, 250 Albertans were hospitalized with COVID-19. On the same date In 2022, 1,013 patients were in hospital with the virus.

In 2021, there were 36 people with COVID-19 in intensive care on Mar. 13, compared to last year's 72 and this year's 11.

It is not known how many people in 2020 and 2021 were hospitalized and admitted to the ICU because of the virus versus people who were admitted for other reasons and incidentally tested positive, as that statistic was only made available by Alberta Health as of February 2022.

Alberta had 1,213 COVID-19-related deaths in 2020 and 2,106 in 2021. Last year had the highest number of fatalities, with 2,110.

There have been 190 COVID-19-related deaths so far this year, bringing the province's pandemic death toll to 5,619.

The next data update is scheduled for Wednesday, March 22.