Seventeen more deaths in Alberta are attributed to COVID-19, but the number of people hospitalized with the disease continues to decline in the province.
On Monday, Alberta Health announced that the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the province has reached 3,188 since the pandemic began.
However, the government department also said the number of people hospitalized with the disease is now 519, up from 554 on Friday. The number of people requiring intensive care for COVID-19 in those hospitals also decreased, from 110 on Friday to 100 on Monday.
READ MORE: Alberta Surgical Patients Can Wait Months for Care After COVID-19 Delays
Health authorities said 1,068 new cases of COVID-19 were identified over the weekend: 429 on Friday, 353 on Saturday and 286 on Sunday.
The Calgary area has more active COVID-19 cases than any other region in Alberta (1,848) followed by the Edmonton area (1,249), the northern area (1,213), the central area (991) and the southern area (521 ). Six cases have not been linked to any particular area.
New requirement for proof of vaccination in Alberta
As of Monday morning, most Albertans are now required to provide a scannable QR code if they wish to enter businesses that participate in the province’s vaccine passport program. The only other proof of the vaccine is now a Canadian Armed Forces vaccination registry or a First Nations vaccination registry.
READ MORE: QR code is now the only acceptable form of COVID-19 vaccine test in Alberta
Individuals who do not have proof of their vaccination can still access companies participating in the province’s waiver program with a private pay negative COVID-19 test from the last 72 hours or with proof of a medical waiver.
Tam highlights the importance of good ventilation
Director of Public Health Canada Dr Theresa Tam retweeted a tweet from England’s National Health Service on Monday. which emphasized the importance of good ventilation to reduce the spread of the new coronavirus.
“The SARS-CoV-2 virus can linger in the air we breathe like secondhand smoke!” Tam tweeted. “Opening windows / doors for a few minutes at a time can spread the virus to improve air quality.”
READ MORE: Austria targets the unvaccinated with the new COVID-19 lockdown. This is why
Tam’s tweet too provided a link with more information on how to improve ventilation.
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