COVID-19 Live Updates: News on coronavirus in Calgary for April 1

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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.

CFIB wants rapid testing instead of lockdowns

The Canadian Federation of Independent business says it wants provincial governments to look for alternatives to lockdowns — such as rapid testing — as COVID-19 case numbers rise in a potential third wave.

“It is unconscionable that over a year into the pandemic governments continue to rely almost exclusively on blanket lockdowns,” said CFIB president Dan Kelly. “The first two shutdowns were devastating with one in six businesses considering permanent closure, for an estimated 181,000 permanent small business closures expected across the country.”

The CFIB statement comes as Ontario is expected to announce another lockdown today.

Alberta has not used blanket lockdowns since the first wave of COVID-19 in March 2020. Instead, certain activities that pose a higher risk of transmission such as group fitness and indoor dining have at times been limited.

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Alberta has also made rapid test kits available to businesses.

A survey by the CFIB found that two-thirds of small businesses would consider using rapid test kits to remain open.

Ontario to go back into 28-day lockdown: reports

The Canadian province of Ontario, the country’s most populous, will enter another lockdown on the weekend for 28 days, local media reported, as it grapples with rising COVID-19 cases and intensive care hospitalization rates.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), citing unnamed sources, said the province’s premier would announce the new lockdown measures on Thursday.

The new steps would still allow both essential and non-essential retailers to remain open, albeit with occupancy limits and schools would not be closed ahead of a spring break slated for April 12, the CBC said.

Read more.

Wednesday

‘A wake-up call’: Kenney urges caution heading into Easter weekend as Alberta records 871 new COVID cases

Premier Jason Kenney will address Albertans alongside chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw Thursday amid a continued rise in COVID-19 cases and variants ahead of the Easter long weekend, with new public health restrictions a possibility.

The news comes as Alberta reports an 11-week high in new daily cases of the novel coronavirus, as well as 406 variant cases.

“This is a wake-up call for all Albertans. We can see the end of this thing … I would plead to Albertans to please be very careful and follow the public health guideline and the restrictions in place,” Kenney said earlier today in Lethbridge.

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Wednesday

Flames at Canucks postponed due to COVID-19 protocol

The Calgary Flames were already at the rink when they learned Wednesday’s road game against the Vancouver Canucks had been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.

The official word from the NHL came at 7 p.m. MT, roughly an hour-and-a-half before the scheduled puck-drop at Rogers Arena.

In a short press release, the league revealed that two Canucks players and one member of Vancouver’s coaching staff would be placed on the COVID-19 list — that could mean either a positive test or close contact with a confirmed case.

The Flames have not had any positives throughout this season, and this marks the first time in 2021 that one of their games wasn’t played as originally planned.

The NHL will update the situation Thursday.

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Wednesday

Calgarians mark second Easter and Passover during pandemic with innovative ways to connect

The physical meeting together that is an important part of these holidays is missing for many again this year, as the province’s public health measures limit places of worship to 15 per cent capacity and some continue to heed Alberta Health’s recommendation to remain online. But that hasn’t stopped the city’s churches and synagogues from coming up with innovative ways to celebrate as a community.

To mark the Christian celebration of Palm Sunday earlier this week, Hillhurst United Church in Kensingston ran a drive-thru communion with nearly 200 people driving past to receive communion.

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“We’ve found a way to host more activities and services this week than usual, though it’s online or from a distance. It’s beautiful how it works and can still be very intimate with people sharing their stories,” said Minister John Pentland.

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Wednesday

NDP call for travel rebate to encourage stay-cations, boost tourism

A rebate for Albertans who take their summer vacations within the province could be a vital boost for Alberta’s struggling tourism industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, the NDP Opposition say.

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley called on the UCP government to introduce the tourism voucher, which would allow families to obtain a one-time, 20 per cent rebate on travel costs, including accommodations, food and drink, rentals and parking.

“Before COVID-19, we know Albertans spent about $7 billion per year on travel outside of Alberta. This year, we want to give them a reason to spend it here,” Notley said, speaking to the Bow Valley Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.

Read more.

Wednesday

COVID hospitalizations and deaths in Alberta

Wednesday

Quebec moves three cities into lockdown, Ontario considers more restrictions as COVID cases surge

Quebec moved to place three cities into lockdown and Ontario weighed stricter public health measures Wednesday as the two provinces hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic sought to combat a recent surge in cases.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault announced schools and non-essential businesses will close in Quebec City, Levis and Gatineau for at least 10 days starting Thursday, while the curfew will be moved to 8 p.m. from 9:30 p.m.

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“The situation is critical and we have to act quickly,” he said, adding he expects hospitalizations to spike in those cities in the coming days.

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Also: Ford expected to impose new restrictions in Ontario on Thursday

Wednesday

Pfizer vaccine safe, effective on adolescents in trial, companies say

Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE said on Wednesday their COVID-19 vaccine was safe and effective and produced robust antibody responses in 12- to 15-year olds, paving the way for them to seek approval in the United States and Europe in weeks.

The read-out, which puts the pair ahead of other western vaccine developers in the quest to also protect children, will likely allow for the use of the vaccine in that group before the next school year, Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chief executive, said in a statement.

Pfizer’s vaccine is already authorized for use in people starting at age 16. The new study offers the first evidence of how the vaccine will also work in school-age adolescents.

In the trial of 2,260 adolescents aged 12 to 15, there were 18 cases of COVID-19 in the group that got a placebo shot and none in the group that got the vaccine, resulting in 100 per cent efficacy in preventing COVID-19, the companies said in a statement.

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Wednesday

Rapid COVID-19 testing program launched for employees at Edmonton International Airport

The Edmonton International Airport is taking part in an eight-week pilot program that will see rapid COVID-19 tests provided to frontline airport employees.

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Working with Alberta Health Services, mobile medical service provider Numi Health Inc. will administer the voluntary rapid antigen tests to asymptomatic workers involved directly with the public like airline staff and employees in terminal shops and restaurants.

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Wednesday

The latest on COVID-19 from around Canada

Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new case of COVID-19 today. The province has three active cases.

Nova Scotia is reporting two new cases of COVID-19 related to travel outside Atlantic Canada. Health officials are also saying that a previously reported case involves the U.K. variant of the virus.

New Brunswick health officials are reporting 12 new cases of COVID-19 today. Eleven of the cases are in the Edmundston region, where circuit-breaker restrictions were imposed last week, and they are contacts of previously confirmed cases.

Ontario is reporting 2,333 new cases of COVID-19 and 15 more deaths linked to the virus. Ontario’s premier says new public health measures might be announced tomorrow. Doug Ford says residents shouldn’t gather over the Easter weekend as the third wave of infections sends more people to Ontario hospitals.

Manitoba health officials say there has been one death and 70 new cases of COVID-19 today. Screening has also identified 17 additional cases that are variants of concern.

Canada’s top public health doctor says she expects the “crisis phase of the pandemic” will be over before the fall. Dr. Theresa Tam says the next few weeks may be the most challenging yet, as the third resurgence of cases driven by unrelenting variants of concern means there is even less “room for errors” in our public health measures. By June, Tam says, every adult Canadian who wants a vaccine will get at least one dose. And by the fall, she says, they will get their second.

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— The Canadian Press

Wednesday

AHS writes up two gyms for skimping on pandemic precautions

Alberta Health Services issued work orders to two gyms in the Calgary zone for not requiring its members to wear face masks.

Gold’s Gym in Douglasdale and Anytime Fitness located at 2202 100 Horse Creek Rd. in Cochrane were both visited by AHS inspectors.

At Gold’s Gym, unmasked patrons were seen working out within three metres of each other. They wee also moving about the facility without wearing masks, and workout equipment was not set up to support three-metre distancing.

At Anytime Fitness, patrons were seen doing low-intensity workouts without face masks.

Although neither gym was ordered closed, the owners were served a written notice to change their practices and ordered to submit written plans on how they would operate within the bounds of current COVID-19 restrictions.

AHS also issued a warning to the Calgary Hockey Development Centre on 25th Street N.E. An inspector reported that a group of adults were “participating in high-intensity group physical activity”, without masks or physical distancing.

The facility has been ordered to follow public health protocols, including the wearing of masks and proper distancing.

Wednesday

About 26,000 travellers arriving in Canada were exempt from mandatory quarantine hotel

Almost one quarter of all air travellers arriving in Canada since the federal government’s requirement of an expensive three-day stay in a quarantine hotel were exempt from the controversial rules.

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In the month since the order for mandatory stays in specified hotels has been in place, police agencies have issued 100 tickets to arriving travellers for refusing to go to a quarantine hotel, as of March 22, which is the most recent data released to National Post by the Public Health Agency of Canada.

That number of tickets for hotel violations represents more than one quarter of all Quarantine Act tickets issued by police to cross-border travellers over the entire year of isolation orders during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, signalling significant opposition to them.

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Wednesday

Vaccine vacation: Europeans use loophole to get their shots — and some time in the sun

It could go like clockwork.

Say a person in Switzerland doesn’t want to wait their turn in the slow-to-roll-out vaccination program and are going stir-crazy under limited freedoms during the pandemic.

With enough discretionary income, problem solved (as long as they have some free time).

Vaccination trips have mainly been offered to the wealthy for five- or six-figure sums for a three-week trip to a Gulf state, AboutTravel.com notes, but now a Norwegian travel agency is offering a cheaper option, to Istanbul — via Moscow — with vaccination as its main intent.

Read more.