Omicron cases almost doubled in Alberta to 119

Key takeaways: 

• 59 fresh cases of the quick-spreading coronavirus variant were noted Thursday.
• Quick COVID-19 test kits will be open at pharmacies and some AHS hospitals beginning Friday.

Omicron Varinat’s cases doubled in Edmonton: 

Determining cases of the Omicron variant have almost doubled in Alberta as the region registered 59 fresh cases of the variant on Thursday.

There have currently been 119 cases of Omicron noticed in Alberta, 82 of them in the Calgary health area.

Dr Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, stated a considerable number of Omicron cases is attributable to a difference in testing processes.

“Our lab has moved to a more rapid testing process for the Omicron variant which means that today we are reporting a considerable number of Omicron cases arriving from several days all at once,” Hinshaw stated on Twitter. Source – cbc.ca

She stated the 59 recent Omicron cases registered Thursday are mainly from three days of samples between Dec. 12 and 14.

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“I want to ensure Albertans that we are near monitoring developments around this variant and there are other measures in position to aid slow the spread,” Hinshaw stated. Source – cbc.ca

Alberta health officials even registered 473 fresh cases of COVID-19 Thursday, just higher than the 456 registered on Wednesday. Thursday’s total was the most elevated registered in one day in December.

The recent cases were seen via 9,595 tests, with a positivity rate of about 4.98 per cent. 

No recent COVID-related deaths were declared Thursday. One earlier reported death was discovered to have been registered by mistake. The region’s adjusted COVID-19 death tally is now 3,285.

Active cases of COVID-19 grew by 130 to 4,212.