Alberta's last two weeks' COVID-19 new cases are maximum per capita of all provinces: Federal data

Percentage of positive tests recorded by Alberta over that time was also the highest.

The hospitalization rate in Alberta is also on the rise with second only to Quebec.

For the first time during the pandemic, all the five broad health zones of Alberta recorded large numbers of new cases at the same time, with the largest surge in the Calgary zone, where physicians have been urging for more government action to limit the spread.

The rise of active cases from 60 back on March 15, to 694 in April, culminated to 1,193 on July 21.

This situation prompted Calgary City Council to propose a bylaw for mandatory masks on Calgary Transit, and face coverings indoors, and in public places as of Aug. 1.

Calgary's physicians and business leaders applauded Calgary's mask bylaw, which was passed by a 12-3 vote.

A similar bylaw was passed by Edmonton's council on July 21 during an emergency advisory committee meeting.

At a press conference in Edmonton July 21, Alberta's Premier Jason Kenney said "we should all be very concerned about the recent rise in active COVID-19 cases." He chided Albertans who had been ignoring public health orders to "knock it off," and added: "We're not expecting perfection ... let's just do our best."

But with 1,193 active cases on July 21, the province's announcement of the return to classes received mixed reactions from school boards and teachers' associations.

"We anticipate that there will be some cases in schools," Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said. "But again, we have a very strong plan in place, so that when there is a case, we will be able to identify it quickly. We will be able to contain it," reported by CBC.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)