On Sunday afternoon, Alberta Health reported 950 new COVID-19 cases over the previous 24-hour period.

The province also reported 600 additional variant cases, with 38 per cent of the active cases in Alberta now being variants of concern.

On Saturday, Alberta Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeted Saturday there was a significant outbreak in the province relating to the P.1 variant, which was first discovered in Brazil. Hinshaw said the outbreak was linked to a traveller but did not provide further information.

READ MORE: Alberta Health investigating COVID-19 outbreak linked to traveller with P.1 variant

The province said it would provide an update on the situation on Monday.

Mount Royal University political science professor Lori Williams called the vague tweet “unwise.”

“We’re reliant on them (the government) for information and also to answer questions. To simply put out a tweet that raises concerns and doesn’t answer any questions raises the level of anxiety quite unnecessarily,” Williams said.

The new cases reported Sunday came from 11,200 tests performed on Saturday, resulting in a provincial positivity rate of eight per cent.

On April 3, 8,000 vaccine doses were administered and a total of 693,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses had been administered as of Sunday.

READ MORE: Spike in variant COVID-19 cases and possible closures worry some Alberta restaurant owners

The province said hospitalizations remained stable over the previous 24 hours.

The province said it will provide a daily death breakdown on Monday.

Sunday’s 600 additional variant cases were the highest in Alberta since the start of the pandemic, and daily cases were above 1,000 on Friday and Saturday for the first time since early January.

On Thursday, Premier Jason Kenney said the province was in a new wave in its battle against the virus but stopped short of implementing new restrictions to battle the surge.

It has some experts questioning the strategy.

“I feel we’re in the same position, that once this long weekend is over, you’re going to see tighter restrictions coming in, just like we’re seeing in much of the rest of the country,” Mount Royal political science professor Duane Bratt said.

READ MORE: Police visit, leave Calgary church that was allegedly not following COVID-19 restrictions

Last week, B.C., Ontario and Quebec all instituted additional measures, but Kenney put the onus on Albertans to follow current restrictions.

“I think, in various respects, the premier is fumbling this,” University of Calgary health law policy expert Lorain Hardcastle said. “In Alberta, there’s been issues all along with a lack of consistency, and I think his personal responsibility mantra is not working. People know it’s not working.”

“Hopefully, people are seeing the number of cases rising and that we’re not quite out of the woods yet,” infectious disease physician Dr. Stephanie Smith said. “We’re going to see that exponential rise just as we did in our second wave, so we are prepared in the hospital setting for that surge.”

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