Alberta reported 479 new cases of COVID-19, 50 involving variants of the virus, and four more deaths on Wednesday.
About 397,000 doses of vaccines have been administered so far, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said at a news conference.
People born in 1954 or earlier will be allowed to book appointments starting at 8 a.m. Thursday, as can First Nations, Métis and Inuit people born before or during 1969.
Four people died from the disease over the last three days including a man in 80s and a man in his 70s in the Calgary zone, a man in his 40s in the south zone and and man in his 90s in the north zone.
The province reported 4,776 active cases of the disease on Tuesday, with 509 of those linked to variant cases of COVID-19. Almost all variant cases are the B117 strain first identified in the U.K.
“In our current variant cases, the vast, vast majority of the B117 variant in particular, is being spread in our communities,” Hinshaw said Wednesday.
“The B117 variant is spreading in many different contexts and many different settings. And we’re seeing higher attack rates than we typically do in settings where people are exposed.
“That variant has become established in the community,” she said, adding that health officials are working hard to slow its spread “but it is spreading in all zones in our province.”
Two other variants, those first detected in Brazil and South Africa, are found in small numbers in the province and are linked to travel, she said.
To date, there have been 1,047 cases identified involving variants of concern. Of those, 524 people have recovered and 14 have died.
