By rdnewsNOW staff

6 p.m. announcement

Kenney to introduce new health restrictions in evening speech

May 4, 2021 | 2:18 PM

EDMONTON – Premier Jason Kenney is to address Albertans tonight on new public health measures to try to arrest soaring COVID-19 case rates threatening to overwhelm the province’s hospitals.

Kenney’s speech is to begin just after 6 p.m. You can watch it here.

Kenney won’t be taking questions tonight from reporters. Instead a news conference is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday where he will be joined by Health Minister Tyler Shandro, Education Minister Adriana LaGrange and Justice Minister and Solicitor General Kaycee Madu.

Kenney told reporters yesterday he was angered by the “No More Lockdowns” rodeo at Bowden, and said the next few weeks are critical.

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The premier said last week that new laws weren’t necessary but, days later, instituted new regulations in so-called COVID-19 hot spots.

Alberta has more than 23,000 active COVID-19 infections and has the highest case rate of any jurisdiction in North America.

A record 154 people are in intensive care with the illness.

In an open letter to Kenney earlier today, 48 front-line emergency care specialists said Alberta is on track to double the number of people in intensive care by month’s end.

They say that would cause the system to crack and force doctors to decide which critical patients get care and which don’t.

Kenney has been criticized for being slow on introducing new health restrictions despite surging case rates that last week leapt to more than 2,000 a day.

(Troy Gillard – With file from The Canadian Press)