Alberta has another 117 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 871 in their latest report on April 1st.
Two more people have died from the virus. Two men in their 80’s, one in the North zone and one in the Calgary zone, bring the total number of deaths in the province to 11.
Premier Jason Kenney says the increase is tied to the processing of 4,500 backlogged tests which was due to a shortage of reagent in testing equipment.
Kenney says the province is within days of getting the new rapid testing kits which will expand the test capacity by thousands per day. He also says only about two per cent of those tested in Alberta have been confirmed as positive for COVID-19.
Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw says her main concern right now is the health and safety of those living in long term or continuing care facilities. In Calgary, 35 cases of COVID-19 were found in the McKenzie Town Continuing Care Centre and three residents at the facility have died.
As of April 1st, 57 cases have been reported in the Central zone with the number of cases in Vermilion River County staying at two.
The province has completed over 53,000 tests and 142 people have recovered from the virus.