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There were 305 new cases of COIVD-19 reported on Saturday bringing the provincial total to 128,540 since the pandemic began. There were 109 new cases in the Calgary Zone, 89 in the Edmonton Zone, 43 in the Central Zone, 37 in the North Zone and 27 in the South Zone.
Alberta also recorded 15 new deaths, bringing the total to 1,775. There are 5,271 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, down from 5,407 active cases Friday. There are now 359 people in a hospital with 64 of those people in intensive care units.
There are now 121,494 recovered cases in the province, up 426 since the last report and 3,294,952 tests have been completed with 8,070 of those done on Friday.
Alberta has given 144,114 doses of the vaccine, or 3,259.1 doses per 100,000 population, and 49,166 people have been fully immunized.
New details on the next phases of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout are emerging, despite no official update from Alberta Health.
But unlike those in the designated supportive living and long-term care that were vaccinated previously, immunization will be limited to those residents 75 and older.
An email from the Canterbury Foundation to all residents and families said, “For any residents under the age of 75, Alberta Health Services is in the process of reaching out to you individually regarding this decision.”
Alberta Health has said Phase 1B, the next phase, will be focused on all seniors 75 and older no matter where they live. It also includes people age 65 and older if they live in First Nations and Metis communities, such as reserves and settlements. Health officials have identified this group as facing higher risk.
Phase 2 is for further at-risk individuals. Alberta Health has not said how they will be prioritized.
Federal officials say vaccine supply is expected to ramp up significantly over the next week after slowing to a trickle. The two companies currently supplying approved vaccines to Canada signed contracts to supply three million doses by March 31.
Alberta’s share of that promised delivery would be enough to cover all 230,000 seniors age 75 and older, and the frontline health-care workers who are currently eligible for the shot.
Roughly 300 people wrote in with those questions for Postmedia Edmonton’s community-driven guide to the vaccine rollout.
On Friday, a medical officer of health confirmed that Alberta Health Services will use home-care nurses to vaccinate people unable to leave their homes.
Calgary Zone medical officer of health Dr. Jia Hu said home-care nurses will be among those enlisted to bring the vaccine out into the community.
“We’ll use home care. We’ll find a way to do that, for sure,” he said in an interview.
