What you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Sunday, March 15

CBC News | Posted: March 15, 2020 2:59 PM | Last Updated: March 16, 2020

There are now 56 cases of COVID-19 in Alberta, all K-12 schools are cancelled

• All K-12 schools, preschools and post-secondary institutes in Alberta will see classes cancelled indefinitely and child-care centres will be closed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Premier Jason Kenney said Sunday.
• Kenney told media Sunday that 17 new cases had been confirmed in the province in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 56 in Alberta.
• The City of Calgary declared a state of local emergency, ordering recreation facilities and library branches be closed until further notice. The city also ordered that buildings' official occupancy be reduce to 50 per cent, or a maximum of 250 occupants, whichever is lower.
• The City of Lethbridge also closed all recreation and cultural facilities, starting Monday.
• Two new cases were acquired through community transmission from an unknown source, so it's not known how many people in the community may have COVID-19.
• Seven cases happened because of a single gathering in the Calgary zone.
• All long-term care and other continuing care facilities are being told to limit visitation to essential visitors only.
• Places of worship are no longer exempt from restrictions on mass gatherings.
• Post-secondary campuses will remain open, but classes are being cancelled or moved online.
• K-12 students will receive final marks, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said, and students will progress to their next grade level next year.
• Grade 12 students who are eligible to graduate and at this time, diploma exams essential for post-secondary acceptance will still be held.
• Teachers and other school staff will still work, either from school or from home.
• Approved day homes are exempt from the closures because they care for fewer than seven children at a time.
• Alberta's Provincial Operations Centre in Edmonton raised its alert level to 3. The highest level is 4.
• The government committed an additional $500 million to the COVID-19 response.
• Employees can take 14 days of paid job-protected leave to cover the 14-day self-isolation period recommended by Dr. Deena Hinshaw.
• There will also be no requirement to have a medical note for such leave, or to have worked for an employer for 90 days to qualify.
• Health Link has a new self-assessment tool online at ahs.ca/covid. It's the same one used by Health Link staff to determine if a person needs to be tested. More than 300,000 people have taken the online self-assessment so far.
• The province is asking Albertans to self-monitor their air travel, by checking alberta.ca/COVID19 to see if they were at risk of exposure from a confirmed case on a flight.
• The province said Friday it would pause plans to cut the number of front-line health-care workers in Alberta during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Court of Queen's Bench in Alberta is limiting all hearings to emergency or urgent matters only, and all other matters are adjourned.
• The union representing WestJet flight attendants is expecting layoffs of over 50 per cent of its staff in the wake of cancellations due to COVID-19. WestJet said it is one of several scenarios being contemplated.
• Edmonton city councillors voted on Friday to suspend council and committee meetings until March 30 as part of the city's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The City of Calgary enacted its emergency plan late Thursday, which gives the Calgary Emergency Management Agency additional powers to make quicker decisions.
• Hinshaw said public gatherings of more than 250 people should be cancelled, as well as international events. New guidelines on mass gatherings were posted online on Saturday.
• Hinshaw also advised against travelling outside of Canada.
• All Albertans are asked to self-isolate for 14 days when returning from outside the country.
• On a national level, Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne recommended Saturday that Canadians travelling abroad should return to Canada while commercial transportation is still available.
• Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is in self-isolation due to the confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis for his wife, Sophie.

What you need to know today

Across Canada

• Ontario has reported 98 cases, including five the province lists as resolved.
• B.C. has reported 73 cases, including one death and four the province lists as recovered.
• Alberta has reported 56 cases.
• Quebec has reported 24 cases.
• Manitoba has reported 4 cases.
• Saskatchewan has reported 2 presumptive cases.
• New Brunswick has 1 confirmed case.
• 1 case confirmed among Grand Princess cruise passengers at CFB Trenton.

Cancellations and closures

• All K-12 schools in Alberta have cancelled classes.
• All post-secondary schools have either cancelled classes or moved classes online.
• The Drop-In Centre, Calgary's largest homeless shelter, is cancelling all volunteer shifts and future volunteer opportunities until further notice.
• All events at the Jack Singer Concert Hall, Max Bell Theatre and Martha Cohen theatre in Calgary's Arts Commons are cancelled.
• Vertigo Theatre has also cancelled its productions for the time being.
• Chinook Centre and Market Mall will shorten their hours for two weeks, at which point they will re-evaluate.
• All events at Edmonton's Citadel Theatre, including the Collider Festival have been cancelled or postponed.
• Edmonton's Telus World of Science is closed.
• The Calgary Philharmonic and the Edmonton Symphony have cancelled their performances.
• The Jubilee Auditoria in Edmonton and Calgary are closed.
• Calgary's Glenbow Museum is closed.
• Events of over 250 people are cancelled at the Edmonton Conference Centre.
• Organizers of the Calgary International Auto and Truck Show have cancelled their event.
• The Edmonton Home and Garden Show has been postponed.
• The Edmonton Flamenco Festival is cancelled.
• All programs, events and large room bookings at Calgary's public libraries have now been cancelled. Volunteer placements have also been suspended as have public room-booking services. Libraries, however, remain open.
• Calgary has cancelled its annual youth hiring fair.
• Spruce Meadows has cancelled its Winter Farewell and Spring Welcome tournaments.
• Ismaili Muslim places of prayer are closed until further notice.
• The Anglican Diocese of Calgary has suspended all public services until March 31.
• The Calgary Stampede has postponed its annual chuckwagon canvas auction and the upcoming Aggie Days.
• TELUS Spark Science Centre will be closed to the public, including all events and programs,

• Have you got a news tip tied to the COVID-19 outbreak? You can reach CBC Calgary at calgarynewstips@cbc.ca or CBC Edmonton here.