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Alberta identifies 390 new COVID-19 cases, active cases drop below 11,000

Last Updated May 26, 2021 at 8:14 pm MDT

CALGARY — Alberta identified 390 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday following the completion of 5,979 tests.

The province has now dipped below 11,000 active cases with the case count sitting at 10,953 as of Wednesday afternoon.

The continuing decline in active cases is an increasingly positive sign for the province. Just two weeks ago, on May 12, Alberta was approaching 25,000 active cases of COVID-19.

Hospitalizations again saw a slight decline, with 548 people now in hospital, a drop of 17 from Tuesday. There are 157 people in the ICU.

An additional six deaths were reported Wednesday.

The updated numbers come not long after Alberta Premier Jason Kenney outlined the province’s reopening plan.

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The plan shows that as long as hospitalization numbers remain under 800, Alberta will move forward with its step into Stage 1, which is to begin on June 1.

Should numbers continue to trend downwards, Alberta could quickly jump into Stage 2 sometime in mid-June.

The threshold for that jump is having at least 60 per cent of Albertans 12 and over vaccinated with one dose, and hospitalizations under 500.

And with the province vaccinating nearly 25,000 people over the last day, and more than 58 per cent of the required population at least partially vaccinated, that jump back to normalcy could soon be a reality.