Hospitalizations are up and ICU stays are down in the latest COVID-19 update by the province.

Premier Jason Kenney and chief medical officer of health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, reported the data in a briefing on Thursday (Jan. 13).

Hospitalizations grew by 38 to a total of 783, while three fewer people were in the ICU (82 to 79).

"Some good news is that people [with the Omicron variant] have a shorter stay and less severe symptoms," Kenney said.

The province added 6,010 new cases of the virus to a total of 62,733 known active cases — a record high. However, the numbers only tell a portion of the story.

Hinshaw added the province will continue to rely on hospitalization, ICU and positivity rate numbers for upcoming COVID data, noting that restrictions in PCR testing will skew the active case count.