Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Monday, June 21
Alberta set to enter Stage 3 of reopening on July 1
The latest COVID-19 numbers:
- Alberta reported 60 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, out of 2,833 tests over the past 24 hours.
- Almost all COVID-19 public health restrictions will be lifted in Alberta on Canada Day as the province prepares to enter the final stage of its COVID-19 reopening plan.
- Stage 3 of Alberta's Open for Summer plan will kick in on July 1, Premier Jason Kenney announced in a news conference Friday.
- The province is reporting its lowest active case count of COVID-19 since October — there are 2,003 active infections in the province, down from more than 20,000 a month earlier, when Alberta imposed tougher public health restrictions.
- There were 214 people in hospital in Alberta — the same number as the previous day. Of those in hospital, 56 were in intensive care units.
- Alberta's positivity rate is 1.8 per cent.
- There have now been 2,292 COVID deaths, while 227,124 Albertans are considered to have recovered from COVID-19.
- The latest R-value was 0.75, meaning the virus is spreading to less than one person for each confirmed case. That number has slightly decreased from the previous week.
- Three units at the Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary are dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks of the rapidly spreading delta variant, or B.1.617.2.
- Three deaths at the Foothills Medical Centre have been linked to the delta variant, Alberta Health Services says.
- The latest death at Foothills involved a man in his 60s who was not immunized and had significant comorbidities, according to Alberta Health Services.
- A total of 23 people linked to outbreaks on two units at Foothills have tested positive for the variant as of June 18.
The latest on restrictions and reopenings:
- Stage 3 of the reopening plan is set to begin on July 1.
- It would still include isolation requirements for confirmed cases of COVID-19 and some protective measures in continuing-care settings.
- Calgary is expected to discuss options to repeal its mandatory mask bylaw this week.
- Many of Alberta's COVID-19 public health restrictions were lifted June 10 as the province entered Stage 2 of a three-stage plan.
- Stage 2 required 60 per cent of those 12 and older to have had at least one vaccine shot and fewer than 500 infected patients in hospitals.
- Entertainment venues, including movie theatres, casinos and museums, are being allowed to reopen at one-third capacity.
- Restaurants can seat diners inside rather than just on patios, and private social gatherings outdoors can have up to 20 people.
- There are no longer any restrictions on youth and adult sports.
- Up to 150 people are being allowed at public outdoor events, and grandstands for sports and other entertainment can open at one-third capacity.
- Masking and distancing requirements are still in place.
- A full list of current restrictions is available on the province's website.
- Albertans can track the province's immunization progress on alberta.ca.
(Note the latest daily count of new cases in the above chart will usually vary slightly from the net new cases Alberta Health announces each day. For more on why, click here.)
The latest on vaccines:
- As of Monday, 24.9 per cent of Albertans have been fully vaccinated, and 60.2 per cent have at least one dose (70.7 per cent of those ages 12 and older).
- Alberta has now administered 3,804,700 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-Oxford.
- Anyone who received their first mRNA (Pfizer or Moderna) dose in May or earlier can book their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, the province announced on Friday. Also, anyone who received a first mRNA dose in June can also now book their second dose once four weeks have passed since their first shot.
- Alberta is offering $3 million in lottery winnings to encourage more people to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Three $1-million prizes will be available for Albertans aged 18 and over who have had at least one dose. To register, eligible Albertans must fill out their information at alberta.ca/lottery.
- The province has also added travel prizes and tickets to the Calgary Stampede to the lottery.
- Albertans who received their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine as late as April can start booking their second shots immediately, Premier Jason Kenney announced on June 10.
- Hinshaw said the delta variant, first identified in India and now driving a wave of new cases in the U.K., made up about five per cent of the total number of new variants found in the province last week.
- The province allows those who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for their first dose to get either Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna for the second, or they can get another AstraZeneca vaccine shot.
- A mobile vaccination clinic led by Siksika Health Services began offering vaccine shots on June 8 to marginalized people, temporary foreign workers and individuals who are homeless or in supportive living facilities.
WATCH | Alberta hopes lottery will motivate people to get vaccinated:
You can see active cases by local health area on the following interactive map. Scroll, zoom and click on the map for more information:
See which regions are being hit hardest:
Here is the detailed regional breakdown of active cases as reported by the province on Monday.
- Calgary zone: 954.
- Edmonton zone: 370.
- Central zone: 205.
- South zone: 75.
- North zone: 397.
- Unknown: 2.
How Alberta compares to other provinces and territories:
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.
Here are the latest Alberta COVID-19 stories:
With files from The Canadian Press