What you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Monday, July 20
Oil production in Alberta increasing as prices hover around $40 US per barrel for WTI
The latest:
- Alberta reported 368 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend, with 165 new cases on Friday, 106 new cases on Saturday and 97 new cases on Sunday.
- Three more people have died: a man in his 90s linked to the outbreak at Generations Calgary, and a female in her 90s and a man in his 70s, both linked to the outbreak at Misericordia hospital in Edmonton.
- There are 1,109 active cases in the province.
- City council was asked at its meeting on Monday to approve making masks mandatory on Calgary Transit buses and trains.
- A group of doctors is urging the City of Calgary to implement an immediate mandatory masking bylaw in the city.
- The province has declared four new COVID-19 outbreaks in Calgary, including a lounge, downtown restaurant and long-term care facility.
- Alberta Health has declared 13 regions around the province as under a "watch" for COVID-19.
What you need to know today in Alberta:
The Calgary city council met on Monday to debate mandating the wearing of masks on Calgary Transit. A decision was expected to come late Monday or during a continuation of the meeting on Tuesday.
That follows days of triple-digit growth in COVID-19 cases.
With those numbers in mind, a group of Alberta doctors have reiterated their calls for mandatory masking in the province.
More young people are being infected with COVID-19, creating the potential for a severe outbreak, scientists warn. Data from British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island show an increase in COVID-19 infections in the 20-29 age groups.
Despite a "concerning" increase in new COVID-19 cases, Alberta will loosen restrictions next week on visits to continuing-care and nursing homes, the province's top doctor says.
As of Monday afternoon, this was the breakdown of active cases across the province:
- Calgary zone: 553.
- Edmonton zone: 225.
- South zone: 119.
- Central zone: 131.
- North zone: 76.
- Unknown: 5.
- 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
Six cases of COVID-19 have been linked with a Cactus Club restaurant in downtown Calgary, with the company saying it has voluntarily closed the location to conduct a deep clean.
Guests who visited the Stephen Avenue Cactus Club location between July 2 and 10 are asked to monitor themselves for symptoms and contact health authorities if necessary.
An inmate at the Edmonton Remand Centre has tested positive for COVID-19, CBC News has learned, but the inmate was still in quarantine after recent admission when a symptom appeared and was isolated with no evidence of transmission within the centre.
What you need to know today in Canada:
Here's what you need to know now if you're yearning to take a trip — in Canada or beyond.
In the aftermath of the price crash in the spring, coupled with the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mood in the oilpatch has started to improve as prices stabilize around $40 US per barrel.
The federal government has rejected plans for the Blue Jays to play baseball in Toronto during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing concerns over public health risks associated with repeated cross-border travel.
If the Blue Jays make the playoffs and if the risk of COVID-19 has decreased, officials say those plans could be revisited in the future.
Meanwhile, a B.C. researcher is trying to find out why only a handful of residents have tested positive for the virus in one of Canada's poorest neighbourhoods, Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, which many feared would be hit especially hard.
Also on the research front: Scientists at Oxford University say their experimental coronavirus vaccine has been shown in an early trial to prompt a protective immune response in hundreds of people who received doses.
Out of the more than two million people who crossed the border into Canada since the start of strict quarantine laws, no one has been arrested and just a few have been fined for breaking the two-week isolation rule — figures the Public Health Agency of Canada says show the current strategy is working.
The Ontario government's announcement of its Stage 3 reopening measures has ramped up calls from Ontario parents, educators and public health experts for a plan to get kids back to school full-time come September.
The agreement to restrict travel across the Canada-U.S. border will be extended into August.
As the volume of travellers entering Canada through the U.S. has increased in recent weeks, public health officials are being placed at land borders to bolster screening for COVID-19.
As of 7 a.m. ET on Monday, Canada had 110,340 coronavirus infections. Provinces and territories listed 97,051 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 8,882.
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, available from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week.
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.