COVID-19 remains a public health threat. Mandatory measures are in effect provincewide.
Current situation
- Mandatory public health measures are in effect provincewide, including no indoor social gatherings, mask requirements, and business closures and capacity reductions.
- Vaccine distribution is underway – 290,391 doses administered as of March 6
Cases by zone
Due to system upgrades, only preliminary, summary case information will be provided on March 7. Full numbers will be provided the following day on March 8.
March 7 preliminary update:
- 300 additional cases, including 54 new variant of concern cases
- 8,100 laboratory tests completed
March 6 update: the information below is accurate as of end-of-day March 5.
| Location | Confirmed cases |
Active cases* |
Recovered cases |
In hospital** |
In intensive care*** |
Deaths | Tests completed |
People tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Canada | 882,102 | - | - | - | - | 22,193 | - | - |
| In Alberta | 135,537 (341 on March 5) |
4,649 | 128,974 | 247 | 42 | 1,914 | 3,462,799 (8,142 on March 5) |
1,834,591 |
| Calgary zone | 51,842 | 1,659 | 49,592 | 81 | 14 | 591 | - | - |
| Edmonton zone | 54,266 | 1,154 | 52,136 | 70 | 13 | 976 | - | - |
| Central zone | 10,365 | 511 | 9,739 | 34 | 8 | 115 | - | - |
| South zone | 6,677 | 353 | 6,232 | 30 | 6 | 92 | - | - |
| North zone | 12,280 | 958 | 11,182 | 32 | 1 | 140 | - | - |
| Unknown | 107 | 14 | 93 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - |
COVID-19 statistics
See aggregate statistics on cases in Alberta, including age range, sex and characteristics.
New data dashboard
We're testing a new way to display COVID-19 data. More info will be added soon.
COVID-19 notifications
Subscribe to receive email updates about COVID-19 public health measures in Alberta.
Variant cases
Alberta is monitoring for variant strains of COVID-19 that have a higher infection rate. Case numbers are updated daily.
Due to system upgrades occurring today, a breakdown of variant of concern cases will be provided on March 8. The information below is current as of end-of-day March 5.
| Location | B.1.1.7 (UK variant) | B.1.351 (South African variant) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| In Alberta | 589 (36 on March 5) |
10 | 599 |
| Calgary Zone | 219 | 8 | 227 |
| Edmonton Zone | 245 | 2 | 247 |
| Central Zone | 120 | 0 | 120 |
| South Zone | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Zone | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Unknown | 0 | 0 | 0 |
COVID-19 R values
The R value, also known as the reproduction number, describes whether cases are currently increasing, decreasing or staying the same. It tells us average number of people that someone with COVID-19 will infect.
For example, if the R value is:
- at 1, then an infected person will infect one other person, on average
- below 1, it means the rate of transmission was decreasing during that period
- above 1, the transmission rate was increasing
R values from February 22 to 28 (confidence interval)
- Alberta provincewide: 1.01 (0.97-1.06)
- Edmonton Zone: 1.16 (1.07-1.26)
- Calgary Zone: 1.01 (0.94-1.08)
- Rest of Alberta: 0.94 (0.89-1.01)
COVID-19 R values will be updated weekly.
Outbreaks in Alberta
- Acute care and continuing care facilities (including group homes) are reported publicly when there are 2 or more cases, indicating that a transmission within the facility has occurred.
- Outbreak control measures are put in place at continuing care facilities and group homes with a single confirmed case, as a precaution.
- AHS Acute Care Outbreaks in Alberta provides more information on outbreaks in hospitals.
- Prisons, correctional facilities, shelters, child care settings, work camps, food processing and manufacturing facilities and public settings (restaurants, salons, gyms) are listed when there are 5 or more cases.
- Events, sports activities and other workplaces (like office buildings) are listed when there are 10 or more cases.
- Outbreaks are declared over when 4 weeks have passed since the last case was identified, so not all outbreaks listed below have current transmission happening.
Outbreak locations by zone
- Outbreak information is updated on Tuesdays and Fridays each week.
- Case numbers for outbreaks at specific sites are not provided online because they change rapidly and often.
Cases in K-12 schools
The school status map shows the current status of COVID-19 cases in K to 12 schools across Alberta.
Modelling and projections
Variant projections
Several new variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been documented over the last few months. Of particular concern are two variants with higher infection rates that were first identified in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Alberta developed projections of the UK variant to demonstrate how it could spread rapidly if strong measures are not in place to limit in-person interactions and transmission. This variant was chosen as more data is currently available.
- COVID-19 variant projections (January 25, 2021)
Modelling planning scenarios
In April 2020, Alberta used modelling to demonstrate potential COVID-19 case trends during the summer months. This helped us make decisions and prepare hospitals to care for critical and acute patients as we learned how to better treat and prevent the virus.
The scenarios in the models did not become a reality in Alberta, and the province’s hospitalization rate continues to be much lower than the estimate in the low scenario.
Alberta now has months of data and experience to inform our ongoing response to COVID-19. No updated models are being planned at this time.
- Alberta COVID-19 modelling - April 8 (PDF, 828 KB)
- Alberta COVID-19 modelling update - April 28 (PDF, 935 KB)