EDMONTON — Alberta reported 1,449 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday after 11,852 tests.

There are 24,998 active coronavirus cases across the province, including 11,532 in the Calgary zone and 5,707 in the Edmonton zone.

Alberta’s R-value decreased from 1.12 to 1 last week, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said.

“These are positive signs that transmission may be starting to slow,” she added.

Hospitals have 705 Albertans with COVID-19, 163 of whom are in ICU – a pandemic high.

Three more Albertans died due to COVID-19, Hinshaw said.

Alberta has reported 211,836 cases and 2,119 death since March 2020.

VACCINE ROLLOUT

Premier Jason Kenney expects Alberta will reach two million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered on Wednesday after the province’s rollout “kicked it into high gear” last week.

Alberta Health Services administered more than 270,000 doses last week when it opened bookings to teachers and Albertans born in 1991 or earlier.

On Monday, more than 190,000 Albertans booked their COVID-19 shot after eligibility expanded to 12 and older.

“It should be a source of hope and confidence that millions of Albertans have now felt the relief of knowing that they are developing protection against this lethal virus,” Kenney said.

“Your vaccine is your ticket back to normal life.”

Nearly 45 per cent of Albertans 16 and older have one dose, “helping us get closer to widespread immunity,” the premier said.

“Based on our current supply, we expect to have one half of the population vaccinated by the first week of June and two thirds by the third week of June.”

AHS will launch a centralized booking system next month to make appointments at government facilities, pharmacies and doctor’s offices, Kenney said.

Earlier Tuesday, Alberta announced it would save its AstraZeneca supply for second doses.

READ MORE: Alberta to reserve remaining AstraZeneca stock for second doses due to supply concerns