Dr. Deena Hinshaw provided an update for Thursday, December 17, and had the difficult task of reporting that Alberta has recorded 30 more deaths due to COVID 19. 

"This is a heartbreaking figure. While these deaths did not all occur yesterday, this is the highest figure that I have had the sad task of reporting. If anyone still needs reminding of the seriousness of this virus, of the importance of the restrictions that are currently in place, and the importance of doing everything possible to limit our interactions and break the chains of transmission, this is it."

The other numbers were as follows:

  • Alberta now has a total of 790 deaths.
  • There were 1,571 new cases reported in the past 24 hours with 19,800 tests performed for a positivity rate of 7.9%
  • There are 763 people in the hospital with 138 of those in ICU.
  • There are 19,865 active cases in the province.
  • To date, 65,513 people have recovered from the virus. 

Dr. Hinshaw also reported that so far, 394 healthcare workers have been immunized against COVID 19.