Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Wednesday, March 10

The latest:

• Alberta's COVID-19 vaccination program has movedto the next stage on Wednesday as the provincewidensthe age-range of people eligible for a shot.
• As of 8 a.m. on Wednesday, the AstraZeneca-Oxford/Covishield vaccine could be booked by Albertans born in1957throughAlberta Health Services (either online or by calling 811)and First Nations, Mtisand Inuit born in 1972 could solely by calling 811.
• The province plans to offer the first 58,500 doses of that vaccine only to healthy adults between the ages of 50 and 64, with the rollout expanding by one birth year at a time depending on vaccine supply.
• Alberta Health is recommending AstraZeneca/Covishield vaccine for people aged 18 to 64 if they do not have a severe chronic illness.The initial doses of will not be available at pharmacies, the news release said.

• AHStweeted at about 12:30 p.m on Wednesday that morethan 10,000 Albertanshad already booked shots and that call volumes to 811 had been very high.
• AHSrecommends that Albertans book their appointment using the online booking tool wherever possible.
• Covishield, produced by the Serum Institute of India, was recently approved by Health Canada and is considered equivalent to AstraZeneca, Alberta Health Services said Tuesday.
• As of Wednesday,the province said308,962doses of vaccine had been administered, and91,259Albertans have been fully immunized with twodoses.
• Ifshipments arriveas scheduled, the province says all adults in the province will receive their first dose by the end of June.
• Vaccinations for those 75 and older(born in 1946 or earlier) are available at 102 community pharmacies in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer as well as at the AHS sites. A list of participating pharmacies is available on the Alberta Blue Cross website.
• Variants of concern now make up about nine per cent of active cases ofCOVID-19 in the province, a rise from three per cent in late January.
• The province reported 399 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday and two more deaths.
• There were4,463active casesacross the province, a decrease of seven from the day before.
• The province reported 254people were being treated in hospital for COVID-19,with 37people in intensive care beds.

• 10,414coronavirustests were completed with a positivity rate of 3.74per cent.
• An additional 47variant cases were recorded, bringing the total to 734. Of those variantcases, almost all 721 arethe strain first identified in the U.K., and 13are the strain first identified in South Africa.
• Alberta's R-value is 0.95.An R-value below 1.0 means the rate of transmission was decreasing during that period.
• The next update from Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, is set for Thursday at 3:30 p.m. CBC Edmonton and Calgary will carry it live on the websites and Facebook.
• The Alberta government announced Monday that the province could step fully into Step 2 of reopening, as hospitalizations have remainedbelow 450.
• Retailstores and malls will be allowed to increase their capacity to 25 per cent of fire code occupancy, and youth sports teams and activities are allowed to resume with up to 10 participants. Masks and physical distancing arestill required.

Alberta loosens restrictions slightly as COVID-19 cases continue to fall

4 years ago

Duration 1:16

With COVID-19 case numbers continuing to fall in Alberta, the province has decided to loosen a few more restrictions under Step 2 of its reopening plan, says Health Minister Tyler Shandro.

• Restrictions are also being eased for child, youth and adult performances, includingsinging, theatre and playing wind instruments, though participants must follow the same restrictions as for youth sports.
• Banquet halls, community hall and hotels can now host permitted performance activities, wedding ceremonies with up to 10 people, and funeral services with up to 20.
• The province says any decisions on the province moving toStep 3of the reopening will be made on March 22at the earliest.
• Provincial officials are concernedthat two recent COVID-19 outbreaks at two Calgary-area high schools could be linked to indoor gatherings.
• An Edmonton-basedpharmaceutical company say its COVID-19 vaccine is ready for clinical trials.
• Entos Pharmaceuticals says it expects Health Canada approvalfor a Phase 1clinical trial is imminent, after it shipped its vaccine for testing to the Canadian Centre for Vaccinologyin Halifax.

See which regions are being hit hardest

Here is thedetailed regional breakdownof active cases as reported Wednesday by the province:

• Calgary zone: 1,623, up from 1,594 (50,055 recovered).
• Edmonton zone:1,156, downfrom 1,182 (52,445 recovered).
• North zone: 836,downfrom 876 (11,533 recovered).
• South zone: 396, up from368 (6,329 recovered).
• Central zone: 440, unchanged (9,926 recovered).
• Unknown: 12, up from 10 (94 recovered).

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

You can see active cases by local health area on the following interactive map. Scroll, zoom and click on the map for more information.

Here are the latest Alberta COVID-19 stories:

Variants now make up 9 per cent of all cases in Alberta

Alberta reported47 new cases of variants of concern in Wednesday's case count, bringing the provincial total to734 variant cases.

That means variants now make up nine per cent of active cases of COVID-19 in the province, a rise from three per cent in late January.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw,Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said other jurisdictions have seen a much more rapid growth in variants in recent weeks.

"[Other jurisdictions have seen] variants of concern as a proportion of all COVID cases going from three to four per cent to well over half of all cases in just six weeks," Hinshaw said.

"This means that our health measures both the overall restrictions as well as the targeted measures for variant cases are working to slow the growth, and if we continue to work together we can continue to limit the spread."

The province reported 399 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday and two more deaths.

For more, see:Alberta reports 399 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths

10,000 newly eligible Albertans book shots in hours as AstraZeneca vaccinations launch

Starting Wednesday at 8 a.m., all Albertans turning 64 this year those born in 1957 could start booking their AstraZeneca vaccine through Alberta Health Service'sonline booking portal or by calling Health Link at 811.

As well, First Nations, Mtisand Inuit people aged 49 (born in 1972) could book vaccines through Health Link only.

Alberta Health Services clarified over the noon hour that Albertans born in 1958-1971 would be the next group to be offered a chance to book in the coming days.

It said it would outline what age groups were next in coming days.

The province is expecting 58,500 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine this week andmore doses next week..

• When and how you can book a COVID-19 vaccination, as Alberta opens up the age range

More than 10,000 Albertanshad booked shots by about 12:30 p.m.on Wednesday, AHS tweeted, sayingcall volumes to 811 had been high.

"We continue to see high call volumes to Health Link 811 and recommend booking appointments using the online booking tool wherever possible," AHS tweeted.

"We are asking only those born in 1957 to visit the booking tool today. You will need to provide proof of age at your immunization appointment."

Pharmacies are not yet carrying the AstraZeneca vaccine whichwill be given in two doses about 16 weeks apart.

Health Canada approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and the Serum Institute of India's version called Covishield last month.

For more, see:10,000 newly eligible Albertans book shots in hours as AstraZeneca vaccinations launch

Alberta eases more COVID-19 restrictions, completes Step 2 of reopening plan

Retails stores and malls will be allowed increase their capacity to 25 per cent of fire code, and youth sports teams and activities will be allowed to resume with up to 10 participants, Alberta's health minister announced Monday.

Tyler Shandro said with case counts and positivity rates continuing to decline, along with deaths and hospitalizations, it is now safe for the province to complete Step 2 of its reopening plan.

"The situation is changing and we need to change along with it," Shandro said Monday at a news conference. "We said that we'd complete Step 2 when it was safe to do so, and I believe that it now is.

"The time is right to keep moving safely forward, and at the same timethere are reasons for us to remain cautious. We're not seeing the same sharp decline in cases that we saw in December. Cases have plateaued. And we still have to consider carefully how to get the balance right. But I believe that this step, the remainder of Step 2 today, is safe," he said.

"Just last week I announced that we should be able to offer every Albertans a first dose by June 30, and that changes the whole picture here in Alberta."

Effective immediately, the province will complete Step 2 by easingmore restrictions, Shandro said.

Made-in-Edmonton COVID-19 vaccine ready for clinical trials, company says

An Edmonton-basedpharmaceutical company say its COVID-19 vaccine is ready for clinical trials.

Entos Pharmaceuticals says it expects Health Canada approvalfor a Phase 1clinical trial is imminent, after it shipped its vaccine for testing to the Canadian Centre for Vaccinologyin Halifax.

The company developed a genetic vaccine, similar to those developed by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. But instead of delivering mRNA, the Entos' vaccine is DNA-based.

The company says the expected single-dose vaccine can be stored at room temperature for a month or in a fridge for a year. The two-dose mRNA vaccines, meanwhile, need to be stored at either freezer or ultra-cold temperatures.

The company says it applied its cancer-fighting medical technology at the outset of the pandemic to develop the vaccine.

"If I told you five years ago that a small company that started out with a dozen people brought a new vaccine from concept to phase one trials in ten months, you'd say it couldn't happen," said John Lewis, Entos CEO and associate professor in the department of oncology at the University of Alberta.

"I think what we've accomplished so far with a relatively modest budget has been really remarkable."

If approved, Entos would join Calgary's Providence Therapeutics on the list of Alberta-based COVID-19 vaccine developers to enter clinical trials. It comes as the provincial government announced plans Tuesday to build out its local vaccine manufacturing capacity as new variants of the coronavirus emerge.

Indoor gatherings may have caused COVID-19 outbreaks at 2 Calgary schools

Provincial officials are concernedthat two recent COVID-19 outbreaks at Calgary-area high schools could be linked to indoor gatherings.

Last week, an outbreak declared at Cochrane's Bow Valley High school had 16 confirmed casesof COVID-19 which put more than half of its students and teachers in isolation.

Rocky View Schools told CBC News in an email last week that since a majority of students are able to attend class and they have enoughsubstitute teachers, the school will remain open.

On Friday,BownessHigh Schoolin Calgary announcedan outbreak whichshifted around 1,184 students in grades 10-12 to online learning.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, says one concern that hasbeen raised is that these two outbreaks mighthave been started because of large indoor gatherings.

"Remember that your actions don't just impact you, they impact those around you. And again, not just your immediate circle, but there is a knock-on effect of transmission that flows through all of our networks if we're not cautious," she said at a COVID-19 briefing on Monday.

From remote communities to large workforces, the pandemic has forever changed the province

It was inevitable, the premier said.

Though there were only dozens of cases of thecoronavirus SARS-CoV-2 reported in Canada, health officials were resigned that the pandemic would eventually spread into Alberta.

A news bulletin went out in the late afternoon March 5, with few details aside from confirmation that a presumptive case had been confirmed.

Less than an hour later, the province's chief medical officer of health took to the podium.

"Uh, you all know, my name is Dr. Deena Hinshaw," she said. "I'm here, as you know, to provide an update on COVID-19 in Alberta."

Hinshaw went on to provide more details: the presumptive case was a woman in her 50s who had been on board the Grand Princess cruise ship,which was quarantined off the coast of California.

Nearly a year later, Hinshawneeded to introduce herself to Albertans no longer she had become a fixture when it came to herdaily updates on cases, hospitalizations, outbreaks and deaths.

For more, see:These graphics show just how deeply COVID-19 has infiltrated Alberta

• For the latest on what's happening in the rest of Canada and around the world, seehere.