Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Monday, Aug. 23

The latest COVID-19 numbers:

• Alberta reported another 1,972 new cases of COVID-19 over the weekend:
  • 821 new cases out of 8,959 tests on Friday.
  • 678 new cases out of 8,403 tests on Saturday.
  • 473 new cases out of 5,590 tests on Sunday.
• There were 7,777active casesacross Alberta, an increaseof 1,068from the last data update.
• The bulk of the active cases are among people who aren't vaccinated (73 per cent), followed by the partially vaccinated (11.6 per cent). Only 15 per cent of the cases are people who have been fully vaccinated, according to Alberta Health.
• There were 244 people being treated in hospital, 54 of whom were in intensive care beds.
• Allbut one of thosein ICU beds for COVID-19 (96 per cent) wereunvaccinated or partially vaccinated, and 82.1per cent non-ICU patients wereunvaccinated or partially vaccinated, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health,said onTwitter on Monday.

• Five more deaths werereported, bringing Alberta's total to2,348deaths.
• The positivity rate was 8.66per cent.
• The R-value, which represents the number of people infected by each infected person, was 1.25(with a confidence interval of 1.2-1.31) from Aug. 2-8.
• 234,844 Albertansare considered to have recovered from COVID-19.

• Emergency medicine doctors have written a letter, sent Friday, to the CEO of Alberta Health Services calling for immediate action to address overwhelmed and understaffed emergency rooms.
• AHS has said 98 per cent of its acute care and emergency beds are available, but the provincial tracking site shows bed reductionsin more than two dozencommunities.

The latest on restrictions and reopenings:

• TheAlberta government said Aug. 13 that due to surging COVID-19 cases and higher non-ICU hospitalizations than expected it would hold off on its controversial move to lift morepublic health measuresonAug. 16and would keep them in place six more weeks until Sept. 27, including:
  • Mandatory masking orders in publicly accessible transit, taxis and ride-shares. This includes school buses.
  • Mandatory isolation for 10 days for those with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test result.
  • Testing at assessment centres for any symptomatic individual.
• As of July 29,the Alberta government made the following changes:
  • Quarantine for close contacts isno longer mandatorybut recommended.
  • Contact tracers no longer notify close contacts.Contact tracers will continue to investigate high-risk settings like continuing care facilities.
  • Asymptomatic testing is no longer recommended.

• A vaccination mandate will be implemented for the Scotiabank Saddledome and McMahon Stadium, the Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp.announced Monday.
• All event staff, employeesand fans who are eligible for vaccines must be fully vaccinated to attend live events. The target date for the policy to be implementedis Sept. 15.
• The Calgary Board of Education announced Thursday it was reopening registration for its online learning option because of the continued uncertainty over theCOVID-19 pandemic.The school board originally closed registration for CBe-learn on April 23and didn't plan to allow furtherregistrations.
• The Calgary Board of Educationand theCalgary Catholic School Districtannounced last week thatmasks will need to be worn by K-12 students and staff at the beginning of the school year.
• At the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge, anyone not fully vaccinated will have to undergo regular rapid testing as of Sept.1, the schools announced in a joint statement Tuesday morning.
• The three schools are also requiring mask-wearing in public indoor areas where physical distancing is not possible.
• Masks will be mandatory in classes, labs and indoor gatherings of 20 or more people when nearly all faculty and staff return this fall to Mount Royal University in Calgary.
• At Calgary's SAITcampus,masks are required for all indoor spaceseffective Aug. 23. Bow Valley College will require masks indoors as of Aug. 19.
• The United States said Friday it was extending restrictions on non-essential travel at land and ferry border crossings with Canada until Sept. 21.

The latest on vaccines:

• The Alberta government says it expects to have a decision by September about whether to offer COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to people with compromised immune systems, after U.S. health officials recommended the extra protection be made available to all Americans.
• About 58.5per cent of allAlbertans arefully vaccinated against COVID (or68.8per cent whenlooking at those eligible, ages 12 and older). About65.8per cent of the total Alberta populationhave received at least one dose (or 77.3per cent of those eligible), according to the most recent data from Alberta Health, last updated Aug. 23.

• That's considerablylower than the national average. Nationally, 64.68 per cent of the total population and 73.99 per cent of those ages 12 and older have been fully vaccinated. About 72.35 per cent of the total population or 82.77 per cent of those ages 12 and older had received at least one dose as of the evening of Aug. 20, according to the CBC'svaccinetracker.

• Starting Sept. 7, temporary COVID-19 vaccineclinics will be set up in schools for students in Grades 7 to 12 and for teachers and staff.
• The federal government will soon require that all public servants be vaccinated a mandate thatwill also be implemented by Crown corporations and other federally regulated businesses in the coming weeks.
• Starting soon, all commercial air travellers and passengers on inter-provincial trains and large marine vessels with overnight accommodations (such as cruiseships) will have to be vaccinated. Accommodations will be made for "those few who are unable to be vaccinated," such as testing and screening.

See which regions are being hit hardest:

Here is thedetailed regional breakdownof active cases as reported by the province on Monday.

• Calgary zone: 2,438.
• Edmonton zone: 2,408.
• South zone: 984.
• North zone: 1,158.
• Central zone: 765.
• Unknown: 24.

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