COVID-19 Live Updates: News on coronavirus in Calgary for March 21

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With news on COVID-19 happening rapidly, we’ve created this page to bring you our latest stories and information on the outbreak in and around Calgary.

What’s happening now

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My COVID Story: How have you been impacted by coronavirus?

Postmedia is looking to speak with people who may have been impacted by COVID-19 here in Alberta.  Have you undergone a travel-related quarantine? Have you received your vaccine, and if so did you feel any side effects? Have you changed your life for the better because of the pandemic? Send us an email at reply@calgaryherald.com to tell us your experience, or send us a message via this form.

Read our ongoing coverage of personal stories arising from the pandemic.

Pharmacies in and around Calgary offering COVID-19 vaccine

This map shows 53 pharmacies in Calgary, Chestermere and Airdrie offering the COVID-19 vaccine. More locations will be added in the coming days, according to the provincial government. Appointments are still required and can be booked by contacting the participating pharmacies. Details on eligibility and booking can be found here.

GraceLife Church holds another packed worship service ahead of pastor’s court date

A Parkland County church that has been defying COVID-19 restrictions held another busy service Sunday ahead of its jailed pastor’s court date.

The parking lot at GraceLife Church — which has been charged as an entity with breaching capacity limits and social distancing rules — was packed Sunday as congregants once again gathered to worship.

GraceLife Pastor James Coates is scheduled to make a court appearance Monday in Stony Plain on charges under the Public Health Act. His lawyers said last week that they have reached a deal with the Crown which will see one of the charges withdrawn and a second resolved with a fine.

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They said they are hopeful Coates will be released Monday ahead of his trial on the remaining charge in May. The Crown has not commented on the alleged deal.

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‘How is this allowed to happen?’: Calgary nursing home restricts visitation after staff contract COVID-19 variant

An outbreak of a COVID-19 variant at Calgary’s Carewest Dr. Vernon Fanning Centre is inhibiting visitations for some loved ones, even after residents at the facility were fully immunized.

Two staff members at the northeast Calgary supportive-living facility have tested positive for the B.1.1.7 variant of the virus, which originated in the United Kingdom. The cases are not linked and are thought to be acquired in the community.

The situation is frustrating for Waldy Hugel, whose wife, Faye, has multiple sclerosis and resides at the facility.

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Fewer COVID cases in people 80 and up, Tam says as vaccine programs expand

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has resulted in a drop in the number of infections in people over the age of 80, Canada’s chief public health officer said Sunday as several provinces prepared to further expand their immunization rollouts.

Dr. Theresa Tam said on Twitter that the reduction in cases among older adults, along with fewer outbreaks in long-term care settings, “reassure us that vaccines will bring more (and) greater benefits in the weeks to come.”

Her statement came as several provinces prepared to expand their immunization campaigns in the coming days.

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In a time of pandemic, love is in the air on Canada-U.S. border

VANCOUVER — Christina Kelly did not picture marrying her American sweetheart in the Peace Arch Park – a 42-acre (17-hectare) stretch of manicured lawns and neatly trimmed garden beds at an otherwise unremarkable border crossing in the Pacific Northwest.

Kelly, a 28-year-old Canadian legal assistant from Vancouver, had been crossing back and forth between British Columbia and Washington state to see her boyfriend without a hitch for two years.

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UK sets new daily COVID vaccination record in ‘mammoth team effort’

LONDON — More than 27.6 million people in Britain, well over half the adult population, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, official data showed on Sunday, after a daily record of 844,285 doses were administered the previous day.

Some 2.2 million people have had both doses of a vaccine, the data showed.

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Ravers feel the music at socially distanced silent disco in Barcelona

BARCELONA — Barcelona ravers have found a way to get round COVID-19 curbs on clubs by holding outdoor silent discos in some of the city’s best-known locations.

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On Sunday, people welcomed the first day of spring by putting on their headphones and busting some moves at Mar Bella beach along Barcelona’s famous seafront – all while respecting social distancing regulations.

“It’s been incredible, really cool. I didn’t expect there’d be so many people,” said therapist Andres Mellado, 41.

“At first it seems a bit odd dancing in the middle of Barcelona and people were stopping to look, but it’s beautiful … It’s a great thing to do on a Sunday morning, come here and connect a bit to the music,” he said.

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Saturday

Calgary to consider waiving business licence fees for two years

Calgary city administrators are recommending council eliminate business licence fees in 2021 — and two councillors are calling to extend that initiative to 2022 as well.

The waived fees would be part of a $30-million aid package approved earlier this month to provide targeted relief for small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Councillors Jeff Davison and Ward Sutherland argue removing licence fees for the next two years will foster economic recovery in the city.

“We’re going to have to do everything within our power within the city to ensure businesses can remain open over the short term,” Davison said.

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Saturday

‘This is the preventable wave’: Alberta COVID-19 case, variant surge continues

A spike of COVID-19 cases and variants continued in Alberta Saturday, as the province reported another 556 infections from the virus.

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There are now 279 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 47 of whom are in intensive-care units. It’s the highest number of hospitalizations in the province since Feb. 23.

The trends mean Alberta should immediately hit the brakes on plans to reopen and reintroduce measures, argued Dr. Joe Vipond, an emergency room physician in Calgary.

He said the number of variant cases in the province is doubling about every seven days.

“A doubling time of seven days is crazy scary and we know if that continues it won’t be long until a variant becomes the predominant strain in Alberta,” Vipond said.

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Saturday

556 new cases and 4 new deaths

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Alberta reported 556 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and four new deaths. The province reported 99 new cases of the variant of concern, bringing the total number of active variant cases to 759.

Saturday

Province says post-secondaries should prepare for full return to in-person classes in fall

Alberta’s minister of advanced education is encouraging post-secondaries to prepare for a full return to in-person classes in September.

Demetrios Nicolaides said in a statement late Thursday afternoon with the COVID-19 immunization program continuing to move forward and the province expecting every adult Albertan to have been offered their first dose of vaccine by the end of June, post-secondaries should prepare for a full-return to on campus learning.

“As we plan to transition back to in-person learning, the safety of students, staff and faculty will be our top priority,” Nicolaides said. “We will be working closely with Alberta Health and our chief medical officer of health, Dr. Hinshaw, to ensure a safe return to campus in September 2021.”

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Saturday

International spectators to be barred from Olympics in Japan

International spectators will not be allowed to enter Japan for this summer’s Olympic Games amid public concerns over coronavirus, organizers said on Saturday, crushing many fans’ hopes and setting the stage for a drastically scaled-back event.

Some 600,000 Olympic tickets purchased by overseas residents will be refunded, as will another 300,000 Paralympic tickets, Toshiro Muto, the chief executive of the Tokyo 2020 organizing committee, told a news conference.

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He declined to say how much the refunds would cost.

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Saturday

Hinshaw says AstraZeneca vaccine not linked to blood clots

Alberta’s chief medical officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw reminded people that the AstraZeneca vaccine is safe, despite concerns in some European countries.

In a series of tweets, Hinshaw said multiple reviews from health agencies around the world, including in Europe, have found the vaccine is safe.

She said 25 out of more than 20 million people vaccinated have experienced rare blood clots, and health officials are still working to link the vaccine with the reported medical episodes.

She also noted that Albertans are 500 times more likely to die after contracting COVID-19 than to contract blood clots after vaccination.

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Health Minister Tyler Shandro also took to Twitter Saturday to thank the 58,500 albertans who have signed up for the AstraZeneca Vaccine.

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He said if supply keeps up at current paces, All Albertas should have at least one dose of the vaccine by the end of June.