Provincial data shows the total number of Albertans who died from COVID-19 rose by more than 40 in the last reporting week, while hospitalizations fell slightly.
The province’s death toll since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic now stands at 4,790, an increase of 42 people from a week ago.
Meanwhile, the number of people in hospital and intensive care units with COVID-19 has dropped.
As of Tuesday, there were 857 Albertans in hospital with the disease, including 20 who are in the ICU. As of last week, there were 870 people in the hospital with COVID-19, including 32 ICU patients.
The seven-day PCR test positivity rate dropped more than three percentage points from the previous week, from 21.86% to 18.77%.
From August 23 to 29, public health officials identified 1,367 new cases of COVID-19. The previous week, 1,858 cases were confirmed.
Despite the declines, more virus is believed to be circulating across the province, as few people are eligible for a PCR test and provincial data excludes positive results from rapid tests.
By the end of the day Monday, 77.6 percent of people living in Alberta, including those who are not eligible, had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine; 82 per cent of Albertans had received at least one dose, up 0.1 percentage points from a week ago.
Of all Albertans, 39.1 per cent had received three doses of the vaccine as of Monday, up 0.1 percentage points from last week.
Parents with children ages five to 11 were able to start booking appointments for their children to receive their booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, with doses scheduled to begin on Wednesday, Alberta announced Health last week.
31 smallpox cases confirmed
Public health officials have confirmed a total of 31 cases of smallpox in Alberta as of Aug. 26, an increase of 12 cases in a two-week period, according to data from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).
To date, a total of 1,251 cases have been confirmed across Canada, the majority of which were identified in Ontario and Quebec, according to the PHAC.
Albertans who are 18 years of age or older and meet certain eligibility criteria can book an appointment to receive a monkeypox immunization.