By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

saturday update

Coronavirus hospitalizations nearing second benchmark as step one starts Monday

Feb 6, 2021 | 4:09 PM

Alberta Health is reporting 348 new cases of COVID-19 across the province Saturday for a one-day positivity rate of 3.5 per cent.

Taking recoveries into account, the active case total is down to 6,266 from 6,407.

Hospitalizations continue to decline, going from 475 yesterday to 457. The step two benchmark is 450, but with step one commencing Monday, it must get and remain below that benchmark for three consecutive weeks before the province will re-evaluate going to the next step.

There are 84 Albertans in ICU, down five.

The province’s death toll has also risen to 1,705, up 12 since Friday. The latest fatalities occurred between Dec. 23 and Feb. 5.

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116,716 doses of vaccine and more than 3.23 million COVID-19 tests have been administered as of Feb. 5. More than 1.77 million individual Albertans have been tested.

Meantime, Red Deer’s active case count continues to surge, the number now at 247. That’s up from 220 on Friday. The one-day increase in total cases is 35, while recoveries went up by just eight. The death toll sits at 22.

Red Deer’s active case count was as low as 158 on Jan. 24 and has increased every day except for one since. The peak was 434 on Dec. 19.

In contract to the provincial active case case count which has declined 16.8 per cent since last Saturday, the city of Red Deer’s active case total has risen 38 per cent.

Read more here about a serious outbreak at Red Deer’s Olymel plant, which as of Friday was ground zero for 80 active cases and one death, according to Alberta Health. The union representing its nearly 2,000 employees is requesting a two-week shutdown.

Active cases across Central Zone

Red Deer County: 22 (+1)

Sylvan Lake: 26 (-5)

Lacombe County: 26 (-2)

City of Lacombe: 23 (+7)

Ponoka County: 91 (-13)

Clearwater County: 38 (-2)

Brazeau County: 5 (+1)

Mountain View County: 8 (–)

Olds: 3 (–)

Kneehill County: 2 (–)

County of Stettler: 5 (–)

Central Zone has now tallied 9,148 cases of coronavirus, up 62 from Friday. Active cases rose 12 to 654. There are 32 people in hospital, up one, and five in the ICU (all in Red Deer), down one. There have been 97 deaths in the zone, an increase of one with Alberta Health reporting the death of a male in his 80s linked to an outbreak at Seasons Camrose on Feb. 3.

Elsewhere, Calgary Zone has 2,561 active cases, Edmonton Zone has 1,940, North Zone has 794 and South Zone has 654.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw will be holding her next live COVID-19 update on Monday, Feb. 8.

More information is at www.alberta.ca/covid19.