By rdnewsNOW staff

"This wave is here"

Alberta returns to Step 1 of COVID restrictions amid sharp rise in variant cases

Apr 6, 2021 | 5:03 PM

EDMONTON – Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is reinstituting some public-health restrictions, saying that variant cases of COVID-19 continue to soar and are on track to swamp the health system by mid-May.

Kenney says that as of Friday, restaurants must close to indoor in-person dining. Patios may remain open.

Retail stores will be allowed 15 per cent customer capacity rather than the current 25 per cent, and low-intensity group fitness activities are once again banned.

Indoor social gatherings remain banned and outdoor get-togethers can have no more than 10 people.

Kenney says Alberta is now seeing a third wave of COVID-19, driven mainly by the more contagious and dangerous variants.

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“We believe that based on the current trajectory, if we don’t slow down this curve that we are set to hit the maximum capacity of our system in mid-May,” Kenney warned. “These trends would challenge the health of thousands of Albertans and lead to many, many preventable deaths.

“The only responsible choice to save lives and protect our healthcare system is to take immediate action.”

The full list of restrictions in effect for Alberta is posted at the end of this story.

The province averaged about 1,000 new COVID-19 cases a day during the Easter long weekend, and the death total has now surpassed 2,000 in the province.

Red Deer’s number of active COVID-19 cases dipped by five on Tuesday to sit at 215. There have been 2,972 recoveries, an increase of 22 as the total number of cases attributed to the city rose by 17 to 3,221. The number of deaths in the city stemming from COVID-19 remains 34.

Elsewhere locally as of Tuesday:

Red Deer County – 42 active cases (+1)

Sylvan Lake – 26 (–)

Lacombe County – 45 (+1)

Lacombe – 43 (-1)

Ponoka County – 165 (-1)

Brazeau County – 18 (+4)

Clearwater County – 9 (–)

Mountain View County – 32 (+1)

Olds – 29 (–)

Kneehill County – 18 (+1)

County of Stettler – 5 (–)

The Central Zone has 878 active cases with 30 hospitalizations, including five receiving intensive care at Red Deer Regional Hospital. The zone has had 123 deaths attributed to COVID-19.

Province-wide, Alberta reported another 931 cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, including 676 variant cases of concern. That’s out of 9,126 test results for a positivity rate of 10.2 per cent.

There are now 10,809 active cases in the province, a 27 per cent increase over past week. Forty-three per cent of the province’s active cases are made up of variants of concern.

Three more deaths stemming from COVID-19 were reported over the past 24 hours to bring Alberta’s total to 2,001. There are 328 Albertans in hospital because of COVID-19, including 76 in intensive care.

734,403 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Alberta as of the end of April 5.

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Step 1 restrictions

The following mandatory public health measures come into effect at 11:59 p.m. on April 6:

Retail

Retail services must reduce customer capacity to 15 per cent of fire code occupancy, with a minimum of five customers permitted.

Curbside pickup, delivery and online services are encouraged.

Shopping malls will be limited to 15 per cent of fire code occupancy.

Indoor fitness

Only one-on-one training with an individual or household is permitted for indoor fitness activities (e.g., fitness in dance studios, training figure skating on ice, one-on-one lessons).

No drop-in activities or unsupervised individual fitness.

Group fitness, high or low intensity, is not allowed.

Outdoor physical activity is allowed with up to 10 people, provided physical distancing is maintained between households.

Adult performance activities

Adult performance activities are not permitted. Performance activities include dancing, singing, acting, playing a musical instrument and any rehearsal or theatrical performances.

The following mandatory public health measures come into effect at noon on Friday, April 9:

Restaurants, pubs, bars, lounges and cafés

Indoor in-person service is no longer permitted.

– Takeout, curbside pickup and delivery services are permitted.

– Outdoor patio dining is also allowed. Tables and dining parties must be two metres apart or separated by an impermeable barrier that will prevent droplet transmission.

– Household members only, or two close contacts of someone who lives alone.

– Contact information must be collected from one person of the dining party.

The following mandatory public health measures remain in effect unchanged:

Places of worship

All places of worship will continue to be limited to 15 per cent of fire code occupancy for in-person attendance.

– Virtual or online services are strongly encouraged.

– Drive-in services where individuals do not leave their vehicles and adhere to guidance will be permissible and are not subject to capacity restrictions.

Social gatherings

Indoor social gatherings continue to be prohibited.

Outdoor social gatherings are limited to 10 participants, provided physical distancing and other measures continue to be followed.

Personal and wellness services

– Personal and wellness services can be open for appointment only. This includes hair salons, nail salons, massage, tattoos and piercing.

– Health services, including physiotherapy or acupuncture, social or protective services, shelters for vulnerable persons, emergency services, child care, and not-for-profit community kitchens or charitable kitchens can remain open for in-person attendance.

Indoor and outdoor children’s sport and performance

K-12 schools and post-secondary children’s sport and performance activities, such as physical education classes, can now use off-site facilities to support curriculum-related educational activities.

Lessons, practices and conditioning activities, but not games, may occur for indoor team-based minor sports/activities and school athletics.

– All participants must be 18 years old or younger, excluding coaches or trainers.

– Maximum of 10 individuals, including all coaches, trainers and participants.

– Participants must stay physically distanced from each other at all times.