The province is announcing new temporary measures to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Premier Jason Kenney announced on Thursday all indoor group fitness and team sports activities will be prohibited from November 13 to 27 in major communities including Fort McMurray.

This two-week pause also includes theatre, choir, and dance cohorts.

They’re also introducing mandatory and voluntary measures for communities under the enhanced watch list.

Starting Friday, November 13, restaurants, bars, and lounges must stop selling liquor at 10 p.m. and close their doors at 11 p.m. for two weeks.

Weddings and funerals can have a maximum of 50 people. Religious and faith services are being asked to limit gatherings to one-third of their capacity.

Also, the province is asking residents in these communities, which includes the RMWB, to avoid having any social gatherings at their home until numbers start to drop.

Employers are also being recommended to try and find solutions to having a high number of employees in-person at the same time.

COVID-19 Update

Fort McMurray’s active total of COVID-19 cases is going down slightly.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, announced on Thursday 860 new cases across the province.

This raises the provincial total to 36,405 with 8,305 cases currently active.

Locally, Fort McMurray saw 20 new cases and 23 recoveries over the past 24 hours, putting the active total at 110.

The rural areas currently have zero active cases as the remaining three individuals have recovered.

In total, 437 individuals across the RMWB – 366 in Fort McMurray and 71 in the rural areas – have recovered.

They are among the 27,707 who’ve recovered across the province. This represents over 76 per cent of reported cases.

Meanwhile, there were also 10 new deaths from COVID-19 in Alberta over the past day – raising the total to 393.

To date, only one person in Fort McMurray has died from the virus.