Health Minister Jason Copping. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

BA.2 sub-variant found in 70% of cases in Alberta, too early to say if start of new wave

Mar 30, 2022 | 3:47 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The province has released its latest weekly report on COVID-19.

Health Minister Jason Copping says the Omicron BA.2 sub-variant has been detected in the majority of new COVID cases.

“The BA.2 Omicron sub-variant is the dominant strain in Alberta and has shown to be more transmissible than BA.1. Our lab has found that around 70% of all positive PCR test samples are now BA.2. Fortunately, the available evidence so far does not suggest that it causes more severe illness than the previous Omicron strain.”

Responding to a question about what this might mean for the province going forward, Copping said it is too early to say whether BA.2 will result in a new pandemic wave in Alberta, nor whether any restrictions would be necessary.

Previous note: starting on the week of Monday, March 21, COVID-19 data will only be reported by AHS once per week on Wednesdays.

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The numbers reported in this update reflect data from March 22-28, 2022.

During the last seven days, 4,612 cases were confirmed across the province for a daily average of approximately 659.

In the South Zone, 355 people tested positive, or 51 each day. There were 136 new cases in Lethbridge or 19 per day.

Since last Wednesday, 30 Albertans have died from COVID, or a little more than four per day. This includes 10 in the Edmonton Zone, six each in the Calgary, Central, and North Zones, and two in the South Zone.

The two deaths in the South Zone were for residents of South Lethbridge.

Provincially, 964 patients are currently hospitalized including 46 who have been admitted to intensive care. This marks an increase of eight for hospitalizations and a decrease of 10 for ICU compared to our most recent report on Wednesday last week.

Below are graphs showing how COVID-19 in Alberta has trended since the start of the pandemic, which can also be accessed with more detail here.

COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in Alberta. (Alberta Health Services)

COVID-19 hospitalizations by vaccination status. (Lethbridge News Now)

Below is a breakdown of cases per health zone in Alberta:

• Calgary Zone
  • 217,543 cases
  • 280 in hospital, 11 in ICU
  • 1,107 deaths (six new)
• Edmonton Zone
  • 172,888 cases
  • 345 in hospital, 23 in ICU
  • 1,587 deaths (10 new)
• North Zone
  • 60,102 cases
  • 113 in hospital, three in ICU
  • 499 deaths (six new)
• Central Zone
  • 54,846 cases
  • 135 in hospital, two in ICU
  • 520 deaths (six new)
• South Zone
  • 35,143 cases
  • 91 in hospital, eight in ICU
  • 361 deaths (two new)

Below is a breakdown of current cases in the South Health Zone:

• Lethbridge – 12,093 cases (136 new), 92 deaths (two new)
  • West Lethbridge – 4,662 cases (49 new), 12 deaths
  • North Lethbridge – 3,730 cases (25 new), 28 deaths
  • South Lethbridge – 3,706 cases (62 new), 52 deaths (two new)
• Medicine Hat – 7,229 cases (101 new), 89 deaths
• Brooks – 2,643 cases (one new), 32 deaths
• Lethbridge County – 2,701 cases (17 new), 23 deaths
• Cardston County – 2,679 cases (31 new), 47 deaths
• M.D. of Taber – 1,669 cases (seven new), 19 deaths
• M.D. of Pincher Creek – 1,204 cases (18 new), 14 deaths
• Cypress County – 1,185 cases (14 new), six deaths
• County of Warner – 1,109 cases (nine new), eight deaths
• Fort Macleod – 829 cases (11 new), eight deaths
• County of Newell – 658 cases (three new), nine deaths
• County of Forty Mile – 424 cases (two new), five deaths
• Crowsnest Pass – 330 cases (five new), three deaths
• Waterton – eight cases, zero deaths