What you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Tuesday, Sept. 1
At least 2 schools connected to COVID-19 cases, with one postponing fall opening
The latest:
- Today, the first day of September, marks the first day of classes for many schools in Alberta as students, parents and teachers brace for a school year that will be unlike any other in history.
- Alberta Chief Medical Officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Monday that she was notified over the weekend of a "small number" of schools with COVID-19 cases or exposures in staff, but she did not elaborate.
- Meadow Ridge School in Okotoks decided Monday not to reopen Tuesday after a staff member at the kindergarten to Grade 9 school was diagnosed with COVID-19.
- A COVID-19 case has also been connected to Canyon Meadows School in Calgary, although the K to Grade 5 school decided to open as planned on Tuesday.
- The Peace River School Division, northwest of Edmonton, posted a notice on its website saying it was delaying the start of its school year until after Labour Day. The notice said the delay was to give teachers more time to get used to safety protocols, plan for at-home learning and to ensure there are enough caretakers and supplies in schools.
- Hinshaw issued a directive on the weekend that says schools in the province are no longer required to maintain two metres for physical distancing in classrooms, essentially bringing the regulations into line with the reality on the ground.
- The province's tally of active cases continued to climb on Tuesday, with 164 new cases, bringing the total to 1,398, up from 1,370 on Monday.
- The Calgary zone leapfrogged past the Edmonton zone on Monday in terms of total active cases for the first time in weeks, and it continued to to rise on Tuesday.
- Calgary now has 626 active cases, up from 590 on Monday, after dipping below 300 in August.
- The Edmonton zone has declined to 542, from 551 on Monday.
- Eleven regions around the province are under a "watch," which is declared when active cases surpass 50 per 100,000 people.
- The highest ratio is in Clear Hills County, where there are 867 cases per 100,000 people.
What you need to know today in Alberta:
Alberta racked up another 164 cases on Tuesday, after a weekend of high case numbers.
Saturday's tally of 184 was the highest number of new cases reported for a single day since April 30, when 228 cases were reported.
"The latest numbers are raising concerns," Hinshaw said Monday.
Two more people have died, 50 are being treated in hospital, and 10 are in ICU beds.
An outbreak at the Calgary Kidanemehret Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church has accounted for 57 new cases.
Hinshaw also reported an outbreak of eight active cases at the Walmart Supercentre in Edmonton on Calgary Trail.
Hinshaw's next news conference will be this Thursday, Sept. 3.
An individual connected to Canyon Meadows School in southwest Calgary tested positive for COVID-19, parents were informed by letter Monday. The principal, assistant principal and an administrative secretary were in quarantine although the K to Grade 5 school planned to open on Tuesday.
Meadow Ridge School in Okotoks decided not to reopen Tuesday after a staff member was diagnosed with COVID-19, Foothills School Division officials say. Even though Alberta Health Services advised that students could safely attend class at the kindergarten to Grade 9 school as scheduled Tuesday, school officials decided Monday night to postpone the beginning of the semester.
Meanwhile, schools in Alberta are no longer required to maintain two metres for physical distancing in classrooms, following a directive issued on the weekend by Alberta's chief medical officer of health. The new order follows previous direction from Hinshaw. On Aug. 4, Hinshaw brought in mandatory masking for students from Grade 4 to 12 where distancing cannot be maintained.
The new order, signed on Aug. 29, says "an operator of a school does not need to ensure that students, staff members and visitors are able to maintain a minimum two metres distance from every other person when a student, staff member or visitor is seated at desk or table."
It says this applies within classrooms where tables and chairs are arranged to prevent people from facing each other and allowing the greatest distance possible between seated individuals.
A report released Tuesday argues the COVID-19 pandemic is making a bad situation worse as far as the mental and physical health of Canadian kids.
It says poverty and food insecurity, child abuse, neglect, physical inactivity and instances of anxiety and depression among children may be increasing — or are in danger of increasing — because of the pandemic.
A pregnant Alberta woman is urging the federal government to rethink its pandemic travel rules to allow her to return to the country to access medical care without leaving her soon-to-be adopted Haitian children behind.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has the second lowest approval rating among provincial leaders in Canada, with only about two in five respondents saying the UCP leader is doing a good job handling the pandemic and the struggling economy, according to a new poll.
CBC News is following four families as they navigate the return to school in the midst of the global pandemic, tracing how the reopening impacts them before and during the return. Here's the first instalment: Getting ready for school.
CBC Calgary also wants to hear from Alberta's parents, students and teachers in regards to how the process has gone so far.
Here's the regional breakdown of active cases across the province as of Tuesday:
- Calgary zone: 626, up from 590 Monday.
- Edmonton zone: 542, down from 551 Monday.
- North zone: 171, down from 174 Monday.
- Central zone: 27, same as the previous day.
- South zone: 30, up from 24 Monday.
- Unknown: 2, down from 4 Monday.
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 10:15 a.m. ET on Tuesday, Canada had 128,948 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 114,218 of those as recovered or resolved.
A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC's reporting stood at 9,163.
There is an escalating conflict between Ontario Premier Doug Ford's government and four major teachers' unions. The dispute is now headed to the province's labour board as the unions allege Ontario's school reopening plan violates its own workplace safety laws.
Health Canada is willing to consider approving home COVID-19 tests to screen for the virus, a spokesperson for the minister of health told Reuters, in a win for public health experts and doctors who have argued that frequent and inexpensive testing could beat back the pandemic.
Canada's federal government has signed an agreement in principle to acquire up to 76 million doses of a potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed by an American company.
Self-assessment and supports:
Alberta Health Services has an online self-assessment tool that you can use to determine if you have symptoms of COVID-19, but testing is open to anyone, even without symptoms.
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.
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.
With files from The Canadian Press