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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.
Almost 2.2 million more vaccine doses coming to Canada this week as COVID-19 cases spike
More than two million doses of vaccines are set to arrive in Canada this week as the country scrambles to contain the wildfire spread of more contagious variants of the COVID-19 virus.
That includes the first batch of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines — 316,800 doses — to be sent to Canada from the global vaccine-sharing initiative known as the COVAX Facility.
Canada has contributed $440 million to COVAX, half to secure up to 15 million doses of vaccines for Canada and half to buy vaccines for poorer countries that can’t afford to purchase their own.
While any member country can draw on COVAX’s supplies for its own use, Canada has been heavily criticized for undermining the spirit of the COVAX initiative, which is to ensure vaccines are equitably distributed to poor countries.
Read more.
Alberta estimates 950 new cases, another 600 variant cases Sunday
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Nearly 40 per cent of Alberta’s active cases are variant cases as the province reported another 600 variant cases of COVID-19 on Sunday.
With an additional estimated 600 additional variant cases detected, 38 per cent of Alberta’s total active cases are now variants of concern, according to Alberta Health. Just over two weeks ago, the variant cases represented only 11 per cent of the province’s active case count.
The update comes the day after the province reported a “significant” outbreak of the highly contagious P.1 variant which was first identified in Brazil. The spread of P.1 in the community is concerning because research suggests the strain is up to 2.5 times more transmissible than the currently dominant strain.
Alberta Health told Postmedia Saturday the outbreak involved a traveller who returned from out-of-country, but said Sunday they were no longer able to confirm that detail.
Alberta reported an estimated total of 950 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, which came from about 11,200 completed tests for a test positivity rate of about eight per cent. According to Alberta Health, hospitalizations remain stable.
Read more.
Alberta pharmacies, worried about wastage, giving COVID-19 vaccines ahead of schedule
Some Alberta pharmacies are immunizing soon-to-be-eligible Albertans against COVID-19 early amid concerns over vaccine wastage.
A pharmacist at a southeast Calgary Shoppers Drug Mart location told Postmedia Sunday the store was maintaining a waitlist for those eligible for vaccination in Alberta’s Phase 2B, even if their birth year is not yet eligible.
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Even younger Albertans, including those as young as 16, can join the waitlist if they have eligible underlying health conditions, the pharmacist said. Albertans can put their name down for excess shots by going to their pharmacist and asking to be added to the list.
Nearly one million Albertans are eligible in Phase 2B of vaccinations, which offers vaccines to those with a wide array of health conditions, including cancer, diabetes or auto-immune diseases. A full list of eligible conditions is available online.
Read more.
Officers exit church, issue no tickets after preacher yells at them to leave
Officers did not issue any tickets after the preacher at a southeast Calgary church holding a religious gathering thought to be in violation of public health orders drove them away.
A Calgary police officer attended the Street Church, at 4315 26th Ave. S.E., alongside Alberta Health Services and city bylaw officials on Saturday afternoon.
There, they were met by controversial street preacher Artur Pawlowski, who began yelling at officers to leave the church.
About a minute later, the officer complied and exited the building. Pawlowski filmed the interaction and posted it online.
Pawlowski has been fined multiple times for violating public health orders.
Read more.
‘Things are grim’: Nenshi says Alberta could soon hit 2,000 cases a day in third wave
The third wave of COVID-19 could compromise Calgary’s path out of the pandemic just as immunizations ramp up, Mayor Naheed Nenshi warned.
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The comments come after Alberta set a nearly three-month high in new cases Friday and Saturday, tallying about 1,100 infections each day, and as the province reports a “significant” outbreak of the P.1 variant first found in Brazil.
“Things are grim,” Nenshi said. “Things are moving in the wrong direction and they are moving incredibly rapidly in the wrong direction.”
Read more.
Hopper: In defence of Canada’s unprecedented decision for a four-month vaccine interval
Tristin Hopper writes:
Seniors across the country are rightly enraged that they were promised a 21-day interval between vaccine doses only to have that appointment pushed into July due to new recommendations by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization prescribing a four-month interval between doses. Seniors, after all, were the most vulnerable to COVID-19.
Throwing thousands of Canadian seniors into three extra months of vaccine limbo was never going to be popular, particularly when Canada is the only jurisdiction on Earth to use a four-month interval between doses.
In a pandemic that has been defined by near-constant government missteps, this may be one of the few times where Canada has prioritized science over political expediency.
Read more.
COVID shots for children are coming. Why we need them to end the pandemic
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As the slow march to COVID vaccination in older age clusters continues, word this week that Pfizer’s COVID vaccine appears extraordinarily good at protecting 12- to 15-year-olds was “great,” though not entirely surprising news, said Dr. Fatima Kakkar.
Pfizer’s vaccine is already authorized for ages 16 and older, and younger teens aren’t that much different.
Read more.
Sunday
GraceLife Church holds packed Easter services in violation of COVID-19 restrictions
A Parkland County church held its second packed Easter service in three days on Sunday, against a closure order issued in January for violating COVID-19 restrictions.
Vehicles poured into the GraceLife Church parking lot, just west of Edmonton, before the 10:45 a.m. service Sunday morning. Two RCMP vehicles could be seen outside the parking lot and remained on scene shortly after Sunday’s service began.
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Churches are allowed to be open under the current COVID-19 restrictions but must limit capacity to 15 per cent, require mandatory masking and physical distancing between households. GraceLife has been found in violation of these restrictions every Sunday since the closure order from Alberta Health Services came into effect.
Read more.
Sunday
Vancouver restaurant ignores order to close; B.C.’s public safety minister says there will be ‘consequences’
Businesses putting staff and patrons at risk by remaining open in defiance of COVID-19 rules will face consequences, British Columbia’s public safety minister said Sunday as the province works to bring surging infections under control.
The warning from Mike Farnworth comes after a Vancouver restaurant that flouted restrictions by serving patrons indoors was slapped with a closure notice on Saturday, which its owner has indicated she intends to ignore.
“Harassment of enforcement officials will not be tolerated, and closure orders by Vancouver Coastal Health or any other health authority must be respected,” Farnworth said in a statement.
“There most certainly will be consequences for those openly ignoring and defying orders that are intended to keep British Columbians safe.”
Read more.
Sunday
Keep your guard up, Tam urges Canadians as COVID-19 disrupts Easter for second year
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Canada’s chief public health officer is urging people to keep their guard up as COVID-19 disrupts Easter celebrations for a second year.
Theresa Tam wrote on Twitter that Canadians need to be careful since the more contagious variants of concern “could be anywhere.”
Read more.
Sunday
Restrictions imposed in and around Mumbai as COVID cases in Indian state surge
India’s richest state, Maharashtra, announced stringent COVID-19 restrictions from Monday, after a rapid rise in infections now accounting for more than half the country’s daily new cases.
An industrialist who attended a meeting with the chief minister before the curbs were announced quoted him as saying that “the situation is grim and there could be shortage of hospital beds, doctors and oxygen cylinders.”
Read more.
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