Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Friday, Oct. 1

The latest on Alberta's COVID-19 response:

• Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says the Canadian Armed Forces and the Red Cross are sending medical staff as COVID-19 continues to overwhelm hospitals, while Newfoundland and Labrador is sending a medical team to help in Fort McMurray.
• Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said last week that federal assistance is on the way to Alberta andcould come in the form ofCanadian Armed Forces' medical resources "and/oraero-medical evacuation capability," Canadian Red Cross resources and other federal health resources.
• The Canadian Red Cross willprovidestaff to the Red Deer Regional Hospital, Kenney said.
• Kenney also saidpublic sector workers will soon be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
• The policy, approved by the province's COVID-19 cabinet committee earlier in the day, will affect25,500 provincialemployees who must all submit proof of full vaccination by Nov. 30.
• Employeescan be exempted if they obtain an accommodation based on the Alberta Human Rights Act or if they choose to produce a negative PCR test result,obtained at employee's expense and done within 72 hours of every scheduled workday.
• Alberta is dealing with a COVID-19 crisis that has seen well over 1,000 new cases a day for weeks while filling intensive care wards to almost twice normal capacity.
• Kenneyalso said he asked for an inventory of the Johnson and Johnson one-dose vaccine, noting that some vaccine-hesitant Albertans have expressed a willingness to take this version. The Government of Canada has committed to securing the vaccines by as early as next week, but currently have no supply.
• Anti-vaccination protests and all other demonstrations outside hospitals will be banned in a move to make Alberta health-care facilities safer for staff, patients and families, Premier Jason Kenney said Tuesday.
• Kenney said the province was still monitoring the impact of new public health measures that went into effect eight days ago. No new restrictions were announced this week.
• The province has updated its daily symptom screening checklist. It now recommends household contacts of those with COVID-19 quarantine for 14 days if they are not vaccinated, or partially vaccinated.
• Women delivering babies will only be able to have one support person, starting next week.AHSsays it's in an effort to manage the escalating impact of COVID-19.
• AHS president Dr. Verna Yiusaid the province is seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases in children between the ages of 10 and 19.

WATCH| Kenney sayshe still has no planto impose additional COVID-19 restrictions for the general population:

Alberta not considering additional COVID-19 measures, Kenney reiterates

3 years ago

Duration 0:43

While Albertas public servants will need to get fully vaccinated, Premier Jason Kenney says he still has no other plans to impose additional COVID-19 restrictions for the general population.

• Kenney'sgovernment imposeda voluntary vaccine passport system that took effect Sept. 20tocombat the fourth wave of COVID-19.
• Operators who are eligible for the program,but opt not to take part, will have to follow measures that include capacity limits and physical distancing (more details are provided below).
• Albertans are now able to visit a local registry agent to request a printed version of their vaccination card at no cost. They will need to provide the month and year of any dose of vaccination, their Alberta Personal Health Number and their date of birth.
• A QR code for proof of vaccination has been made available, but not the app to scan it similar to the vaccine passport systems announced months ago by Quebec and weeks ago by B.C.
• Starting Oct. 25, proof of two doses or a negative test will be required for entry to places operating under the restrictions exemption program. Up until then, one dose or a negative test will suffice.
• Those who want to show a negative COVID-19 test rather than aproof of vaccinationmust have one that was paid for privately, notvia Alberta Health Services or Alberta Precision Laboratories.
• It must be a Health Canada-approved rapid antigen, rapid PCR or lab-based PCRtest completed within the previous 72 hours.

• Calgary's new bylaw, which brings in mandatory vaccine passports for many types of businesses, came into effect on Sept. 23.
• It means people going to restaurants, bars, casinos, movie theatresand sporting events must show proof of vaccinationor a recent negative test result to enter. Those who don't comply can receive a $500 fine. Peace officers will be enforcing the rules.
• The City of Lethbridge is joining Edmonton and Calgary in making it mandatory for city employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. All workers must be fully vaccinated by Nov. 15, the city announced on Sept. 28.
• TheCalgary Airport Authority announced on Sept. 29 that it will be implementing a mandatory vaccination policy for all employees. The policy provides alternative protocols for unvaccinated and partially-vaccinated employees, such as weekly COVID-19 tests. The requirement comes into full effect on Nov. 15.
• The regulator for Alberta doctors is exploring ways to speed up its investigations into physicians accused of spreading misinformation or treating patients with unproven COVID-19 remedies. "Our processes can be slow but we're looking at ways that we can expedite that," Dr. Scott McLeod, registrar of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta, told a news conference Wednesday.
• McLeod said the CPSA willprioritize pandemic complaintsreviews to ensure patients are protected. If verbal warnings are ignored, doctors will be punished, he said.

WATCH |ICU stay changes Calgary man's mind about COVID vaccine:

ICU stay changes Calgary man's mind about COVID vaccine

3 years ago

Duration 2:23

Bernie Cook was hesitant to get the vaccine when he caught COVID. His sickness gave him first-hand experience through one of Alberta's crowded ICUs. Now he's warning others to take action to avoid the same fate.

The latest COVID-19 numbers:

• Alberta reported 1,630new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, out of 15,857tests.
• There were20,215active casesacross Alberta.
• Alberta reported 14moredeaths from COVID on Friday.
• A total of 2,731Albertans have died of COVID.
• The positivity rate was 11.06per cent.
• The province continues to leadthe country by a wide margin in daily new COVID cases and active cases.
• There were 1,066people being treated for COVID in hospital, 263of whom were in intensive care beds.
• There are 316patients in ICU, the vast majority of whom are COVID positive, AHS said on Friday.
• Provincially, ICU capacityis at 84per cent, including additional surge beds. Without the additionalspaces, provincial ICU admissions would be at183per cent of capacity, AHS said.
• Alberta's northern health zone, which encompasses regions where vaccination uptake is well below the provincial average, is operating at over 100 per cent of its intensive care capacity. AHS said Friday that the North zone had 15 ICU spaces, including nine surge beds.
• Albertahas374ICU beds open in Alberta, including 201additional spaces (a 116per cent increase over abaseline of 173).AHS has opened 13additional ICU surge spaces in the past seven days.
• Provincewide, the R-value was1.04 (with a confidence interval of 1.02 to 1.06) as of Sept. 13-19.In Edmonton, the R-value is0.97, while in Calgary it's0.94. The rest of Alberta has an R-value of 1.15
• 276,856Albertansare considered to have recovered from COVID-19.
• The province is preparing to activate its triage protocol, which means health-care workers will have to decide which patients are given potentially life-saving interventions like ventilators.
• Alberta Health Services said Sept. 17 thatthe only surgeries happening in the province are those that must be done within a three-day window.

WATCH|Premier Jason Kenney saysAlberta's fastest-growing COVID-19 cohort are school-aged children living in rural areas with low vaccination rates:

Highest COVID-19 rate is among rural children: Kenney

3 years ago

Duration 2:15

Albertas fastest-growing COVID-19 cohort are school-aged children living in rural areas with low vaccination rates, Premier Jason Kenney said Tuesday.

How the restrictions and exemptions work:

Some of the broad strokes of the new restrictions include:

As of Sept. 16:

• Private social gatherings:
  • Indoor private gatherings for vaccine-eligible, fully vaccinated people are limited to a single household plus one other household to a maximum of 10 people, with no restrictions on children under the age of 12.
  • Attendance at any indoor private social gathering is not permitted for vaccine-eligible individuals who are unvaccinated.
  • Outdoor private social gatherings are permitted to a maximum of 200 people, with two-metre physical distancing maintained at all times.
• Workplaces:
  • Work-from-home measures are mandatoryunless the employer has decided a physical presence is required for operational reasons.
• Places of worship:
  • Must limit attendance to one-third fire code capacity.
  • Face masks will be mandatory and there must be two-metre physical distancing between households or two close contacts for those living alone.
• Outdoor events:
  • No attendance restrictions, but two-metre physical distancing adhered to.
• Schools (K-12):
  • Mandatory masking for students in Grades 4 and up, as well asstaff and teachers in all grades. Schools that can implement an alternate COVID safety plan can be exempted from mandatory masking.
  • Elementary schools must implement class cohorting.
  • For physical activities in schools, youth aged 18 and under are not required to mask or maintain two-metre distance when engaged in physical activity.
  • There are no restrictions on outdoor activities.
  • Indoor sports/performance/recreation/special interests are permitted with requirements for two-metre physical distancing, where possible.

As of Sept. 20:

• Restaurants, nightclubs and pubs:
  • Venues that choose to implement the restrictions exemption program canoperate as usual when it comes to vaccine-eligible Albertanswith proof of vaccination.
  • Otherwise:
    • Outdoor dining only with a maximum of six individuals per table (one household or two close contacts for those living alone).
    • Liquor sales to end at 10 p.m. and consumption at 11 p.m.
• Weddings and funerals:
  • Hosting facilities that choose to implement the restrictionsexemption program canoperate as usual when it comes to vaccine-eligible Albertanswith proof of vaccination.
  • Otherwise:
    • All indoor ceremonies and services are limited to 50 attendees or 50 per cent fire code capacity, whichever is less.
    • No indoor receptions are permitted.
    • All outdoor ceremonies and services for weddings and funerals must be limited to 200 attendees.
• Entertainment and recreation facilities such as museums, movie theatres and casinos:
  • Hosting facilities that choose to implement the restrictions exemption program canoperate as usual when it comes to vaccine-eligible Albertanswith proof of vaccination.
  • Otherwise:
    • Limited to one-third fire code capacity, attendees are only permitted to attend with their household or two close contacts for those living alone.
    • People must be masked and keeptwo-metre physical distancing between households.
• Adult sports, fitness and recreation:
  • Facilities that implement the restrictionsexemption program can operate as usual when it comes to vaccine-eligible Albertans with proof of vaccination.
  • Otherwise:
    • No indoor group classes or activities are permitted.
    • One-on-one training or individual workouts are permitted but three-metre physical distancing is required.
    • No contact between players; no indoor competitions except where case-by-case vaccine exemptions have been granted.
• Retail and shopping malls, places of worship, hotels and personal services are some examples of venues and businesses that arenot eligible to participate in the program.
• They must follow health restrictions that includephysical distancing and capacity limits.
• A full list of restrictions and exemptions is available on the government's website.

The latest on vaccines:

• 63.4per cent of the province's total population have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, or 74.5per cent of eligible Albertans.
• Out of the province's total population, 71.3per cent have received at least one dose, or 83.8per cent of those eligible.
• Canada-wide,76.4per cent of the total population havereceived at least one dose of vaccine, and 70.8per centof the total population are fully vaccinated,according to the CBC'svaccinetracker.
• Alberta is expanding the number of immunocompromised people who are eligible for a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The full list of eligible people can be found on the province's website.
• In addition, mRNA doses that's Pfizer or Moderna areavailable to Albertans travelling to a jurisdiction that does not accept visitors vaccinated withmixed doses.
• Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, sayspregnant people are at high risk of very serious illness and are urging them to get their COVID-19 vaccinations.

See which regions are being hit hardest:

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

• Edmonton zone:5,080.
• Calgary zone:4,834.
• North zone: 4,015.
• Central zone:3,995.
• South zone: 2,273.
• Unknown: 18.

Here are the latest Alberta COVID-19 stories: