The active total of COVID-19 cases is continuing to rise in Fort McMurray.

The province announced on Friday 1,731 new cases across Alberta – the highest daily count since measures were first introduced in mid-March.

This raises the provincial total to 54,836 with 14,931 currently active. There are also 415 Albertans in the hospital for the virus, 88 of which are in ICUs.

Locally, Fort McMurray saw 23 new cases and 11 additional recoveries which raises the active total to 197.

The rural areas also added one more COVID-19 case and three recoveries which lowers the total of active cases to 25.

In total, 589 individuals across the RMWB – 511 in Fort McMurray and 78 in the rural areas – have recovered.

They are among the 39,381 who’ve recovered across the province. This represents under 72 per cent of reported cases.

There were also five new deaths from COVID-19 in Alberta over the past day – raising the total to 524.

To date, two individuals in Fort McMurray have died as a result of the virus.