File photo of Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw (Government of Alberta)

By Justin Goulet

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Alberta allowing limited school and team sports activity starting Monday

Feb 6, 2021 | 1:13 PM

Limited school and minor sport training will be allowed once again in Alberta starting Monday.

The move is part of Step 1 of Alberta’s four-step framework to ease COVID-19 restrictions as pressure on the health system declines.

Starting February 8, children and youth will be allowed to take part in lessons, practices and conditioning activities for indoor and outdoor team-based minor sports and athletics.

All games will continue to be prohibited.

“Alberta’s government is committed to supporting the health and well-being of children and youth province-wide,” Health Minister Tyler Shandro said in a statement.

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“While these activities are included in Step 1, there are strong measures in place that must continue to be followed. Let’s all continue doing our part to limit the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health system that every Albertan relies on.”

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw added that despite the small change, there is one thing that remains the same.

“We all need to be cautious and make safe choices to limit the spread of COVID-19. It is vital that everyone involved diligently follows the health measures as we move forward,” she said.

“Together, we can continue to reduce the spread and keep protecting our health system.”

While limited indoor and outdoor activities for school and minor sports are allowed, strong public health measures remain in place:

• All participants must be 18 years old or younger, excluding coaches or trainers.
• A maximum of 10 individuals, including all coaches, trainers and participants, can participate.
• All participants must maintain physical distancing from each other at all times.
• Participants must be masked at all times, except when engaged in the physical activity.
• Coaches and trainers must remain masked at all times.
• There must be limited access to change rooms, including for accelerated arrival and departure, for emergencies and for washroom use.

All other previously announced measures set to ease in Step 1 will also be permitted starting Monday, February 8.

Indoor masking and distancing requirements will stay in place throughout the province’s four-stepped approach, and some degree of restrictions will still apply to all activities with each step.

The province stated that a decision on Step 2 will be made if, after three weeks, there are 450 or fewer hospitalizations in Alberta and the number is declining. That same re-evaluation period will be used for all subsequent steps.

Metrics based on cases and growth, including COVID-19 variants, are being monitored and will also be used to guide any decisions around the need to pause further steps or potentially increase restrictions.

More details on the province’s four-step approach can be found here.