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Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Thursday, Oct. 7

There were 1,094 people being treated Thursday for COVID in hospital, 248 of whom were in intensive care beds.

The province reported 1,254 new cases and 13 deaths

CBC News · Posted: Oct 07, 2021 9:35 AM EDT | Last Updated: October 7, 2021

More than 50 Alberta schools are contending with active COVID-19 outbreaks, while more than 700 other schools are on alert for clusters of infection. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)

The latest on COVID-19 in Alberta:

Premier Jason Kenney joined Doug Schweitzer, minister of jobs, economy and innovation, and health officials gave an update on COVID-19 on Thursday.
Kenney announced new supports for businesses participating in the restrictions exemption program, offering a one-time payment of $2,000 to small- and medium-sized businesses who choose to implement the program.
Calgary city council approved a bylaw in September that brings in consistent application of the province's vaccine passport program.
There will be an additional $1 million available for businesses that want to train employees on how to effectively check immunization records. Kenney said this training will build on protocols from ProServe (Alberta's liquor service and sales program).
Kenney said the maximum fine that comes from mistreatment of front-line workers will be doubled as of Thursday from $2,000 to $4,000.
Kenney also said the government expects to launch an app that can read proof-of-immunization QR codes next week.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Thanksgiving weekend poses a significant COVID risk and encouraged Albertans to keep gatherings as small as possible.
Hinshaw said Alberta hospitals have seen people with extreme adverse effects after taking the drug Ivermectin. That drug is predominantly used in livestock species like horses and cows to control intestinal parasites and some skin parasites.
Alberta reported 1,254 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday.
The total number of active cases in Alberta is 18,411.
The province continues to lead the country by a wide margin in daily new COVID cases and active cases.
A total of 2,814 Albertans have died of COVID, with 13 new deaths reported Thursday.
The positivity rate was 8.07 per cent.
There were 1,094 people being treated for COVID in hospital, 248 of whom were in intensive care beds as of Thursday.
AHS said on Thursday that there are currently 309 patients in ICU, the vast majority of whom are COVID positive. The number of patients in ICU has been relatively stable over the past seven days.
There are currently 374 ICU beds in Alberta, including 201 additional surge spaces (a 116 per cent increase over a baseline of 173).
Provincially, ICU capacity is at 83 per cent. Without the additional spaces, provincial ICU admissions would be at 179 per cent of capacity, AHS said.
For the first time in months, Alberta is reporting an R-value below 1. The R-value is the average number of COVID-19 infections transmitted by each diagnosed case.
An R-value below 1 means transmission is no longer growing. Province-wide, the R-value for Sept. 27 to Oct. 3 is 0.92, with a confidence interval between 0.90 and 0.94. In Edmonton zone, the R-value is 0.86 (0.83-0.90 confidence interval), while in Calgary zone it's 0.93 (0.92 to 0.97). The rest of Alberta is 0.94 (0.92-0.97 confidence interval).
285,794 Albertans are considered to have recovered from COVID-19.
Alberta Health Services said Sept. 17 that the only surgeries happening in the province are those that must be done within a three-day window.
More than 50 Alberta schools are contending with active COVID-19 outbreaks, while more than 750 other schools are on alert for clusters of infection.
According to the province's outbreak list, 54 schools have declared outbreaks, meaning 10 cases or more have been identified. The schools impacted stretch from Medicine Hat to Fort McMurray.

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

ICU stay changes Calgary man's mind about COVID vaccine

3 years ago

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 on Alberta's COVID-19 response:

New COVID-19 modelling shows Alberta may have finally reached its pandemic peak, and if the province leaves restrictions in place and continues to increase vaccination rates, infections and hospitalizations will continue to decline.
The City of Calgary will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof of vaccination by Nov. 1, it announced Wednesday.
This applies to all City of Calgary employees, regardless of workplace or worksite location, including those who are remote working or have a telework agreement in place.
The Calgary Catholic School Division board of trustees voted in favour of mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for all employees.
The vaccine mandate applies to all all staff, including teachers, educational assistants, support staff, and custodial.
There will be a separate policy developed that will require contractors and volunteers entering a city-owned and operated worksite be fully vaccinated.
The province announced new measures to protect children and youth from COVID-19 on Tuesday. Contact tracing in schools will be phased in, outbreaks will be declared in schools, and rapid-test kits will be made available for parents to test younger children.
The Calgary Board of Education will now require mandatory vaccination against COVID-19 for employees, volunteers and partners.
Politicians and staff at the Alberta Legislature will all be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the time the sitting resumes on Oct. 25, government House leader Jason Nixon said Tuesday.
The Canadian Armed Forces has sent eight critical care nurses to help in Alberta's intensive care units. Those nurses are set to begin working at Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital.
AHS says discussions are ongoing with the Canadian Red Cross but at least five nurses will be deployed to support acute care services at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Grande Prairie.
AHS says another eight Red Cross nurses will be allocated to Central Zone, with four supporting the COVID-19 response at rural facilities. The other four will be in Red Deer, with two supporting the emergency department at Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre and two assisting with COVID-19 testing. Start dates are still being finalized and discussions are continuing with the Red Cross about additional staff that may be available.
The Alberta government has rolled out a watermarked vaccine passport and QR codes, although the latter cannot be used without an app that is set to come in a few weeks.
Kenney also said public sector workers will soon be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination.
The policy, approved by the province's COVID-19 cabinet committee will affect 25,500 provincial employees who must all submit proof of full vaccination by Nov. 30.
Employees can 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.
Kenney also 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 this 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 Sept. 28.
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. AHS says it's in an effort to manage the escalating impact of COVID-19.

WATCH | Kenney says he still has no plan to impose additional COVID-19 restrictions for the general population:

Alberta not considering additional COVID-19 measures, Kenney reiterates

3 years ago

0:43

While Alberta’s 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's government imposed a voluntary vaccine passport system that took effect Sept. 20 to combat 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.
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 a proof of vaccination must have one that was paid for privately, not via Alberta Health Services or Alberta Precision Laboratories.
It must be a Health Canada-approved rapid antigen, rapid PCR or lab-based PCR test 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 theatres and sporting events must show proof of vaccination or 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.
The Calgary 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.
A full list of restrictions and exemptions is available on the government's website.

The latest on vaccines:

64.1 per cent of the province's total population have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, or 75.4 per cent of eligible Albertans.
Out of the province's total population, 72.1 per cent have received at least one dose, or 84.8 per cent of those eligible.
Canada-wide, 76.8 per cent of the total population have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 71.5 per cent of the total population are fully vaccinated, according to the CBC's vaccine tracker. Among those eligible, 87.9 per cent have had one dose and 81.8 per cent are fully vaccinated.
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 — are available to Albertans travelling to a jurisdiction that does not accept visitors vaccinated with mixed doses.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, says pregnant people are at high risk of very serious illness and are urging them to get their COVID-19 vaccinations.