The province is bringing back some measures to fight the recent rise of COVID-19 cases.
Premier Jason Kenney announced on Tuesday they’re moving back to phase one of their plan to reopen the economy. We were in phase two at the time of this announcement.
Starting at 12 p.m. on Friday, in-person dining won’t be allowed at restaurants, pubs, and cafes.
Takeout is still allowed, while outdoor patios can still be used.
As of midnight, retail stores and places of worship must reduce their capacity to 15 per cent and gyms and fitness centres are only allowed to offer one-on-one sessions.
Libraries, banquet halls, community halls, conference centres, and hotels will once again need to close their doors to the public.
Hotels can still offer rooms for people to stay, though pools, fitness centres, and other public spaces need to be closed off.
Personal and wellness services, such as hair salons, nail salons, massage, tattoo shops, and more, can remain open by appointment only.
Outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people can continue if everyone follows physical distancing requirements.
K-12 schools and post-secondary children’s sport and performance activities, such as gym classes, can use off-site facilities to support curriculum-related activities.
Lessons, practices, and conditioning activities are still allowed for indoor team-based minor sports/activities and school athletics.
All participants must be 18-years-old or younger, not including coaches or trainers, with a maximum of 10 individuals.
More information about what’s allowed and what’s restricted can be found on the GoA’s website.
Meanwhile, Kenney noted he believes this will be the last time they’ll need to bring back measures as vaccine numbers continue to rise. This includes in Fort McMurray as a new large-scale vaccination site has opened in MacDonald Island Park.
Also, more people will be able to get their first shot.
Anyone 16 years and older with underlying health conditions can book an appointment starting tomorrow. The province was originally going by birth year, allowing older Albertans to sign up first.
Those with cancer, heart, kidney, and liver diseases, diabetes, mental health illness, severe obesity, and more are eligible.
Daily COVID Update
Fort McMurray’s active total of COVID-19 cases is seeing a slight drop.
The province also announced on Tuesday 931 new cases across the province over the past 24 days.
There are currently 10,809 active cases across Alberta, while there have been a total of 154,125 positive tests. There are also 328 Albertans in the hospital for the virus, 76 of which are in ICUs.
Locally, Fort McMurray added 14 new cases and 16 recoveries which lowers the active total to 312.
The rural areas added two new recoveries, putting the total of active cases at three.
Wood Buffalo National Park remains at one active case.
In total, 1,967 individuals across the RMWB – 1,816 in Fort McMurray, 141 in the rural areas, and 10 in Wood Buffalo National Park – have recovered.
They are among the 141,315 who’ve recovered across the province. This represents over 91 per cent of reported cases.
There were also three new deaths from COVID-19 in Alberta over the past 24 hours – raising the total to 2,001.
To date, three individuals in Fort McMurray have died as a result of the virus.
