Dr. Deena Hinshaw provided a live update today after a week away and she returns to very encouraging COVID-19 numbers.

There were 57 new cases reported in the past 24 hours with a positivity rate of 1.4 per cent.

The province now has 1,773 active COVID-19 cases which is the lowest number since October 2, 2020

There were 38 new cases of variants of concern identified.

There are 200 people in hospital, a drop of 14 and 54 in ICU which is a decrease of two. 

Sadly, one additional death has been reported bringing the total in the province to 2,290. 

There are active alerts or outbreaks in 207 schools which accounts for nine per cent of provincial schools.

Rocky View County is reporting 14 active cases while Cochrane is sitting at 11.

To date, 3.85 million doses of vaccine have been administered with 70.8 per cent of Albertans have received one dose of vaccine. Second dose uptake continues to rise sharply, with 30.4 per cent of residents now fully immunized with two doses. 

Alberta's top doctor spoke to the question of mixing mRNA vaccines. "Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can be used interchangeably. It does not matter which brand you get for your second dose. They are both safe and effective, and it is perfectly okay to get one dose of each. Our own Alberta data is clear about why it’s such a good thing that our Moderna shipments have increased so much this month….Our data show that over the past six months, Moderna has had the highest effectiveness of all vaccines with 93% protection against infection after a second dose. Pfizer follows close behind with 90% protection. Both vaccines are highly effective at protecting against infection and severe outcomes."

Dr. Hinshaw says that we will now be making a transition to the next phase of the pandemic. "Some anxiety and uncertainty are natural during these transitions. As cases drop and vaccinations rise, we all must get ready to face a new kind of challenge: Learning to live with COVID as restrictions ease and life starts to feel closer to the one we knew before COVID-19 arrived."

Also, with the decreasing numbers and increasing vaccinations, reporting will change with data of case and vaccine numbers not being reported on weekends and only on weekdays online. As of next Tuesday, June 29, after over 230 updates over the past 16 months, it will be Dr. Hinshaw's last regular update. She will only take to the podium if an update is needed.