Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Monday, Dec. 21

The latest:

• Alberta reported ninemore COVID-19 deaths and 1,240new cases on Monday.
• That brings the total number of active cases in the province to19,165.
• The testing positivity rate is 6.8 per cent,the lowest it has been after weeks above 9 per cent.
• However, hospitalization numbers continue to increase, with795people in hospital, including 151in intensive care.
• Calgarypolice Chief Mark NeufeldwarnedMondaythere's a time and place to debate the legitimacy of laws and punishments, but not when police are enforcing them.
• Neufeld was alluding to an incident caught on video last Thursday that showedofficers arresting a 21-year-old man at an outdoorskating rinkin Calgaryfor allegedly violating a public health order and resisting arrest.
• There were alsotwoarrestsat an anti-mask, anti-restrictionsprotestin front of Calgary City Hall.
• Provincial health orders bar outside gatherings. Those in violation can be hit with tickets that start at $1,000. Calgary's mask bylaw carries fines starting at $100.
• Alberta Health Services has placed the Peter Lougheed Centre's emergency department underCOVID-19 outbreak statusafter 12staff members tested positive.
• A Calgary judge has rejected an emergency application seeking a stay of Alberta's COVID-19 public health restrictions, including bans on gatherings and mandatory masks. A Calgary law firm and the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms appearedin court Monday morning to make an application for anemergency injunction staying Alberta's public health restrictions alleging theyviolateconstitutionally guaranteed rights.
• Travellers from the U.K. arriving in Alberta are being 'strongly encouraged' to get COVID-19 test in view of thenew, potentially more contagious strain of the coronavirus spreading in that country.
• Alberta is expanding rapid testing for COVID-19 to long-term care facilities and rural hospitals, Shandro announced Thursday.
• 448 schools, about 19 per cent of the provincialtotal, are on alert or have outbreaks, with 1,992 total cases.
• A COVIDoutbreak has been declared at the Nakiskaski resort. AHS says all 15 cases were active as of Monday, but the resort says 11 have recovered.

• Alberta plans to administerdoses of the COVID-19 vaccine to 29,000 health-care workers by the end of December, the province has said.
• During the first quarter of 2021, Hinshawsaid Wednesday, the vaccine will be given to long-term care residents, staff who work in long-term care and designated supportive living centres, health-care workers in thehighest risk areas of hospitalsand people over the age of 75.

No safety concerns with COVID-19 vaccinations, says Hinshaw

4 years ago

Duration 1:54

Alberta's chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw says that the new vaccination against COVID-19 is safe and it works.

What you need to know today in Alberta

Alberta reported the lowest testing positivity rate it has seen in weeks on Monday, at6.8 per cent. However, hospitalizations continue to increase with795people in hospital, including 151in intensive care.

The province reported ninemore COVIDdeaths and 1,240new cases on Monday, bringingthe total number of active cases in the province to19,165.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the province's chief medical officer of health,said it's vital people continue to follow restrictions and take precautions to stay safe heading into the holidays.

"This week is another test for our province. This is usually a time for many to relax and celebrate, but we must not relax our guard or gather with friends and family outside our households," she said.

The provincewide R-value, or number of people infected by each person with the virus, was0.92.

A Calgary judge has rejected an emergency application seeking a stay of Alberta's COVID-19 public health restrictions, including bans on gatherings and mandatory masks.

Lawyers for the group of plaintiffs including two southern Alberta churches and a Calgary gym owner had argued the province's COVID-19 restrictions violatetheir constitutional rights.

In the application, Heights Baptist Church in Medicine Hat and Northside Baptist Church in Calgary, along with three individuals,argued that a number of their constitutional rights have been violated, including limiting peoples' ability to gather for both social and religious reasons, along with travelling and conducting business or expressing themselves.

The Justice Centre accuses the government of "cancelling Christmas" and suggests COVID-19 has not created an emergency beyond the normal scope of illness and death in the province.

Justice Anne Kirker, in a decision issued Monday afternoon, said the risk of transmission of COVID-19 is real. She said she did not feel the public interest in granting the stay outweighed the public interest in maintaining the restrictions until the full hearing can take place.

Calgary's police chief says there's a time and place to debate the legitimacy of laws and punishments, but not when police are enforcing them.

"I want to be crystal clear. We do not live in a society where a person can pick and choose the laws they follow,"Chief Mark Neufeldsaid Monday.

"Laws become unenforceable if people are free to simply walk away from officers without identifying themselves. There is a time and a place to debate laws and to argue your innocence and that is in the courts. It is not at the roadside. It is not in the park and it is not on the ice."

Neufeld was alluding to an incident caught on video last Thursday that showedofficers arresting a 21-year-old man at an outdoorskating rinkfor allegedly violating a public health order and resisting arrest.

There were alsotwoarrestsat an anti-mask, anti-restrictionsprotestin front of City Hall.

Provincial health orders bar outside gatherings. Those in violation can be hit with tickets that start at $1,000. Calgary's mask bylaw carries fines starting at $100.

Anyone who has been in the United Kingdom in the past 14 days should get tested for COVID-19, whether they're symptomatic or not, the Alberta government said Monday.

The announcement comes after Ottawa joined several European nations by halting flights from the U.K. on Sunday in an effort to prevent a new, potentially more contagious strain of the coronavirus from spreading to this country.

The province also said travellers from the UK who are participating in Alberta's border pilot rapid-test program must immediately quarantine, whether they've had a negative test or not.

Travellers will be contacted directly by Alberta Health Services to book a test.

On Sunday, 1,286new cases were reported andthe province now has19,20active cases.There are 760people in hospital, including 149in intensive care. The testing positivity rate is 7.2 per cent.

Click on the map below to zoom in or out on specific local geographic areas in Alberta and find out more about COVID-19 there:

Alberta reported another 10deaths on Sunday, bringing the total deaths during the pandemic to 851 since March.

Alberta recently started reportingpre-existing conditions linked to COVID-19 deaths but thebullet points on each day's list of deaths don'ttell the whole story, experts caution.

In November, the province began to announce whether or not a patient who died of COVID-19 also had any comorbidities, which are pre-existing conditions occurring alongside COVID-19.

Dr. Cynthia Carr, an epidemiologist and founder of EPI Research Inc., saysstudying comorbidities can contribute to a greater understanding of how conditions impact each other, but that discussing the concept without nuance can lead to a misunderstanding or dismissive attitudes toCOVID-19's dangers something those living with pre-existing conditionssay contributes to their fear and anxiety.

"I think it's really important for people to understand in real life what that means when we talk about vulnerable populations by age group and [comorbidity] it shows how impactful those health conditions are."

Beyond the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson sees a future of vibrantgrowth and solidarity for the region.

In a year-end interview with CBC News, Iveson said he believes the sense of community andhuman connectionwill be stronger after Edmonton pulls through the adverse effects of the pandemic.

"I think that there'll be a resurgence, a bit of a pent-up demand explosion for community life, for arts, creativity, investment, entrepreneurship, tourism, the food scene."

Ivesonsaid the spirit of overcoming adversity is in Edmonton's DNA.

"There is community, there is hope. We can look to the better angels in our nature and overcome tremendous challenges by pulling together."

In November, the 41-year-old Iveson announced that he won't seek a third term as mayor in the municipal election to be held next October.

Sweeping new restrictions intended to curb the surge of COVID-19 in the province took affect on Dec. 13. They will remainin place at least for four weeks through Christmas and New Year's.A full list of the tighter measures is available on the province's website.

Here isthe regional breakdown of active cases reported on Monday:

• Calgary zone: 6,748, down from 6,853 reported on Sunday(28,626 recovered).
• Edmonton zone:9,147, down from 9,154(29,666 recovered).
• North zone:1,137, up from 1,107(4,838recovered).
• South zone: 461, down from 477(4,275 recovered).
• Central zone: 1,551, up from 1,508(3,885 recovered).
• Unknown: 121, up from 102(144recovered).

Find out which neighbourhoods or communities have the most cases, how hard people of different ages have been hit, the ages of people in hospital, how Alberta compares to other provinces and more in: Here are the latest COVID-19 statistics for Alberta and what they mean

What you need to know today in Canada:

As of 7:30 a.m. ET on Monday,Canada's COVID-19 case count stood at 507,795with76,859 of those cases considered active. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 14,228.

All of Ontario will move into a lockdown on Boxing Day in a bid to curb climbing COVID-19 casenumbers and spare hospitals and their intensive care units from being inundated in January, Premier Doug Ford said Monday.

The lockdown will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Dec. 26 and remain in place until at least Jan. 23, 2021 in the 27 public health units that comprise southern Ontario. In the seven public health units in Ontario's north, where daily case numbers have been significantly lower, the lockdown is set to expire on Jan. 9, 2021.

"If we fail to take actions now, the consequences will be catastrophic," Ford said.

Meanwhile, Ontario reported another 2,123 cases of COVID-19 this morning as admissions to intensive care topped those seen during the first wave of the pandemic.

Quebec saw2,108 new cases of COVID-19on Mondaywith hospitalizations up to 1,048, including 146 people in intensive care units. Manitoba reportedfour deaths and 167 new cases,the lowest numbers in more than a month, while Saskatchewan also announcedfour new COVID-19-related deathsand 206 new cases.

In Atlantic Canada,new measures meant to prevent any possible surge of COVID-19 over the holiday period havestartedacross Nova Scotia, which announcedtwo new caseson Monday. Newfoundland and Labrador reported no new cases and announced that the province's active caseload has dipped to 28.

In Nunavut, three new cases of COVID-19have been confirmed since Friday, all in Arviat, according to a government news release.

British Columbiaannounced624 new cases of COVID-19 and 11 more deathson Friday. The province said1,376 more doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine were administered to front-line health-care workers.

The number of COVID-19 cases linked to the Big White Ski Resort near Kelownahas jumped to 76.

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InSaskatchewan, new restrictions took effect on Thursday. The province reported252 new casesand eight more deaths on Saturday.

Under the new measures, which are in place until at least Jan. 15, residents can no longer have guests in their homes and outdoor socializing is capped at 10 people.

Starting Saturday, bingo halls and casinos must also close, and personal care services, such as hairdressers, mustreduce their capacity tohalf. Retailers have until Christmas Day before they also need to drop to 50 per cent capacity. Larger stores will be limited to 25 per cent.

Manitobasaw238 newinfectionsand nine more deathson Saturday.

Self-assessment and supports:

With winter cold and influenza season approaching, Alberta Health Services will prioritize Albertans for testing who have symptoms, and those groups which are at higher risk of getting or spreading the virus.

General asymptomatictesting is currently unavailable for people with no known exposure to COVID-19.

Those who test positive will be asked to use the online COVID-19 contact tracing tool, so that their close contacts can be notified by text message.

The province says Albertans who have returned to Canada from other countries must self-isolate. Unless your situation is critical and requires a call to 911, Albertans are advised to call Health Link at 811 before visiting a physician, hospital or other health-care facility.

If you have symptoms, even mild, you are to self-isolate for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms, until the symptoms have disappeared.

You can find Alberta Health Services' latest coronavirus updates here.

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The province also operates a confidential mental health support line at 1-877-303-2642 and addiction help line at 1-866-332-2322, both available 24 hours a day.

Online resources are available for advice on handling stressful situations and ways to talk with children.

There is a 24-hour family violence information line at 310-1818 to get anonymous help in more than 170 languages, and Alberta's One Line for Sexual Violence is available at 1-866-403-8000, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.