The total of active COVID-19 cases in the RMWB is seeing a drop in the past 24 hours.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, announced on Friday 1,738 across the province.

This raises the provincial total to 76,792 with 20,161 currently active. There are also 684 Albertans in the hospital for the virus, 123 of which are in ICUs.

Locally, Fort McMurray added 11 new cases and 16 additional recoveries which lowers the active total to 227.

The rural areas had three recoveries and no new cases which puts the total of active cases at five.

In total, 838 individuals across the RMWB – 732 in Fort McMurray and 106 in the rural areas – have recovered.

They are among the 55,947 who’ve recovered across the province. This represents nearly 73 per cent of reported cases.

There were also 18 new deaths from COVID-19 in Alberta over the past day – raising the total to 684.

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