What you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Friday, June 5
Edmonton will lift its local state of emergency today
The latest:
- Only seven new cases of COVID-19 were reported by Alberta on Friday, with no new deaths.
- The province plans to bring in a commercial eviction ban and provide grants for businesses.
- Outbreaks in Calgary long-term care homes have declined, causing cautious optimism.
- First Nations and environmentalists ask for restart of oilpatch monitoring suspended during pandemic.
- Edmonton will lift its local state of emergency today.
- Restaurant owners have to adapt or die as they reopen with restrictions.
What you need to know today in Alberta:
Case counts continue to fall in the province and Edmonton has decided to lift its local state of emergency today. That removes the extraordinary powers granted to its city manager to impose social restrictions in an effort to combat the virus.
That doesn't mean an end to provincial health orders, which Edmonton peace officers will still enforce — including physical distancing.
But the move is a sign that things are starting to return to normal in Alberta, and along with that are demands that some actions taken during the height of the pandemic be reversed. In particular, First Nations and environmentalists want to see oilpatch monitoring, suspended during the shutdown, to be reinstated.
The government also pledged on Friday to introduce a ban on commercial evictions by landlords who refuse federal rent relief funds and announced new money to help small businesses reopen.
The regional breakdown of cases on Friday was:
- Calgary zone: 238 active, 4,576 recovered.
- Edmonton zone: 57 active, 504 recovered.
- North zone: 16 active, 218 recovered.
- South zone: 16 active, 1,218 recovered.
- Central zone: 0 active, 96 recovered.
- Unknown: 1 active, 12 recovered.
What you need to know today in Canada:
Canada's chief public health officer said the spread of the virus has slowed across much of the country, but warned that relaxing public health restrictions too quickly could lead to a rampant resurgence of the disease.
She pointed to hot spots of community transmission in Toronto and Montreal as concerns, even as Ontario Premier Doug Ford is considering moving ahead with the next phase of that province's reopening.
Ontario and Quebec accounted for 90 per cent of new cases in the past two weeks, and most of those were in Toronto and Montreal.
The federal government announced on Friday that it would provide $14 billion to the provinces and territories to help them reopen, with money slated for childcare and protective equipment.
As of noon ET on Friday, there were 94,325 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases in Canada, with 52,114 cases considered recovered or resolved.
A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial health data, regional information and CBC's reporting stood at 7,749.
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.
- Watch: Clearer answers about hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19 emerging.
If you have symptoms, even mild, you are to self-isolate for 10 days from the onset of symptoms.
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.