Health Minister Jason Copping says the province is seeing a slight increase in COVID-19 cases as people return to the office and other in-person activities. 

The positivity rate currently sits at a weekly average of 24.5 per cent, which is up from last week's average of 22 per cent. Wastewater data also shows an increase in transmission, particularly in the Calgary and Edmonton regions. 

"Given that we have lifted the vast majority of public health measures over the last seven weeks, it is not unexpected that we are seeing a slight increase of COVID across the province," said Copping. 

"There are simply more opportunities for the virus to spread." 

The BA.2 variant, considered to be more transmissible than the Omicron variant, accounts for approximately 70 per cent of all lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alberta.  

When asked whether Alberta was on the cusp of a sixth wave, Copping said they're watching other jurisdictions to see how the virus behaves.
 
Copping also announced on Wednesday (Mar. 30) that the province is making Paxlovid, an antiviral used to combat COVID-19, more available. Starting Apr. 1, all pharmacies in Alberta will be able to order Paxlovid for eligible patients. 

As of Wednesday, there are 964 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 47 in intensive care. Over the last week, there have been 30 deaths, bringing the total to 4,074 since the start of the pandemic.