By Troy Gillard

STRICTER MEASURES EXPECTED

Kenney, Shandro and Schweitzer to join Hinshaw for latest COVID-19 update

Dec 8, 2020 | 10:47 AM

Alberta is expected to announce stricter measures aimed at curbing the surging number of COVID-19 cases in the province.

A news conference is scheduled for 4 p.m. today (Tues. Dec. 8) featuring Premier Jason Kenney and Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health.

Minister of Jobs, Innovation and the Economy Doug Schweitzer and Health Minister Tyler Shandro will also be at the update.

You’ll be able to watch the news conference here once it begins.

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New restrictions are expected to include a provincial mask mandate and a ban on dine-in services at restaurants and bars.

Casinos and gyms are also expected to be ordered to close, along with personal services such as salons.

According to reports from CBC and the Calgary Herald, retail businesses are expected to remain open but with limits even more stringent than the current level of 25 per cent of fire code capacity.

Indoor and outdoor gatherings will be banned, except for with members of your own household. People who live alone can still have two close contacts from outside their house.

Dr. Hinshaw said on Monday that she was preparing new, tougher health controls for Kenney’s provincial government to consider.

She said the latest round of health restrictions didn’t get the job done on high rates of COVID-19.

Alberta reported another 1,735 cases of COVID-19 on Monday, and there are now 20,067 active cases in the province.

The Opposition NDP, as well as some physicians and infectious disease specialists, have questioned how Alberta would slow the spread of the virus while everything from bars and restaurants to waterparks and casinos remain open.

(With file from Chris Brown – CHAT News Today, The Canadian Press)