COVID-19 Live Updates: News on coronavirus in Calgary for April 20

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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.

Calgary walk-in spots fill up quickly as AHS reports high uptake of AstraZeneca vaccine

Some people who became eligible for the AstraZeneca vaccine on Tuesday reported being turned away from a Calgary walk-in vaccination clinic, as spots quickly filled up.

AHS reported very slow uptake on AstraZeneca appointments last week. On Sunday evening, Premier Jason Kenney announced AstraZeneca vaccine eligibility would be extended to Albertans born in 1981 or earlier.

As of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, 24,500 people had booked to receive their vaccine online and over the phone, said AHS spokesman Kerry Williamson. He said 6,500 appointments were booked in the Edmonton Zone and 15,000 were booked in the Calgary Zone.

“This is a higher uptake in one morning than over the entirety of last week, when eligibility was limited to Albertans aged 55 and over,” said Williamson.

In addition to online bookings and calling 811 walk-in appointments were available at Edmonton’s Expo Centre and Calgary’s Telus Convention Centre.

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But, when some GenXers showed up in the line for the walk-in clinic at the Telus Convention Centre today, they were disappointed to learn the walk-in spots were already taken. AHS opened 500 more walk-in spots at the Convention Centre just after 11 a.m. but said walk-in appointments are limited and people are urged to make appointments.

Read more.

Hinshaw gets AstraZeneca vaccine

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, announced on Twitter this afternoon that she received the AstraZeneca vaccine.

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Hinshaw, Kenney to provide 3:30 p.m. update

Premier Jason Kenney is expected to join Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw for a COVID-19 update at 3:30 p.m.

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Watch for a livestream of the press conference on this page.

Nova Scotia places major restrictions on travel as variant cases mount

Premier Iain Rankin announced today that as of Friday at 8 a.m., people from outside Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador will not be allowed to enter the province unless their travel is essential or they are permanent residents of the province.

Essential travel includes Nova Scotians whose primary employer is in another province, federally approved temporary foreign workers and people who need to participate in a legal proceeding.

There are also exceptions for post-secondary students coming to study or returning to their residence, and parents picking up a student to bring them home.

New residents can only move into a new home in the province if it was purchased before Friday morning, with the travel ban being reassessed a month from Friday.

Manitoba, North Dakota strike deal to ensure essential workers who cross border are vaccinated

North Dakota has agreed to start providing vaccines to commercial truckers from Manitoba who cross the border.

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister says the program is the first of its kind between Canadian and U.S. jurisdictions, and he hopes to expand it to other essential workers who cross the border for work.

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says because the U.S. has more vaccines, the state wants to ensure that Canadian truckers who frequently travel through the area are vaccinated.

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Pallister says up to 4,000 Manitoba truckers could be eligible for the shots and the doses will be delivered at a rest stop south of the border.

Trudeau seeks vaccine appointment

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland both say they are seeking appointments at a pharmacy to get vaccinated with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19.

Both Trudeau, 49, and Freeland, 52, became eligible today when Ontario dropped the age to get that vaccine to 40 and above.

Trudeau says he is still working out the details for getting his shot, while Freeland says she has her children online trying to get her an appointment and is now on a waitlist.

Canada extends land border restrictions with U.S. another month – minister

Canada on Tuesday extended restrictions allowing only essential travel across the land border with the United States until May 21, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said on Twitter.

The restrictions, imposed in March of 2020, have been extended month by month. Mexico said late on Monday that it was maintaining some of its border restrictions, too.

– Reuters

AstraZeneca bookings now open to Albertans born in 1981 or earlier

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Mossleigh restaurant ordered closed for continuing dine-in service

A restaurant located one hour southeast of Calgary has been ordered closed by AHS for continuing to provide dine-in services.

The Mossleigh Bar ‘n Grill, located at 17, Highway 24 in Mossleigh, was shut down on Friday.

An inspector found people from different households seated inside the restaurant with food and menus.

Dine-in service has been restricted in Alberta since the province returned to Step 1 of the reopening plan in early April.

Monday

Telus Convention Centre to accept walk-ins for vaccination

Anticipating a surge of people now that the AstraZeneca vaccine is being offered to anyone aged 40 and over, AHS has decided to make the Telus Convention Centre immunization site open to walk-ins.

Starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday, the convention centre will accept walk-ins through to Friday. Further dates will be added as required, AHS said in a news release on Monday.

The convention centre walk-in site replaces the one at AHS Southport.

Although some Calgary pharmacies are offering walk-in services, this is the only AHS site to do so.

The Telus Convention Centre site can process up to 6,000 doses per day, but turnout was much lower than that last week, when AstraZeneca eligibility was at age 55 and over.

For more information on vaccinations, go to the AHS site.

Monday

Alberta records 1,391 new cases as AstraZeneca extended to people aged 40 and up

Albertans aged 40 and up will be eligible to receive the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine beginning Tuesday.

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The government made the announcement Monday morning after Premier Jason Kenney tweeted the change late Sunday evening.

Read more.

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Monday

Police to set up roadside checks as B.C. limits travel within province

B.C. Premier John Horgan announced today new travel restrictions that prohibit people from travelling outside their health authority to stop the spread of COVID-19.

B.C. will bring in an order on Friday that means people could face a fine for non-essential travel outside their local health authority with checkpoints across the province.

Horgan said the province is also working with tourism operators to ensure they’re not taking bookings from visitors outside their region. B.C. Ferries will also have reduced sailings and cancel bookings for recreational vehicles. There will also be signs at B.C.’s border with Alberta warning people not to come into B.C. unless it’s for essential travel.

Read more.

Monday

Federal budget keeps COVID-19 benefits in place — but CRB will be less come July

With the third wave of COVID-19 hitting Canada, leading to record case counts, swamped hospitals and new lockdowns, the federal government is keeping emergency supports in place through the summer.

The government is keeping the Canada Recovery Benefit in place. The program was a replacement for the initial $2,000 a month program for people out of work due to the pandemic, who were not covered by employment insurance.

While the benefits will continue, they will be made less generous come July, dropping to $300 per week from $500 now. Extending the CRB, and a similar benefit for people who had to leave their job to care for someone, will cost $2.5 billion.

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Read more.

Monday

Online classes begin for many Calgary students amid rising COVID-19 rate

Thousands of students in Calgary and in northern Alberta are shifting to online learning today because of rising COVID-19 infection rates.

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said last week that Calgary students in grades 7 through 12 would make the move to remote classes. School divisions in Fort McMurray also announced Friday that students in those same grades would be learning from home.

LaGrange said soaring infection rates have put schools under “operational pressures,” sometimes resulting in severe staff shortages.

Read more.

Monday

Quebec and Ontario impose tough restrictions on interprovincial travel

Ontario and Quebec have imposed new interprovincial travel restrictions in an effort to slow the surging COVID-19 variants that are putting increasing strain on Ontario’s hospital system.

Starting today, travellers from Manitoba and Quebec cannot enter Ontario unless they live or work in the province, are transporting goods, or are travelling for health, compassionate reasons or to exercise an Aboriginal treaty right.

Quebec has enacted similar rules for its western border with Ontario, and is requiring anyone returning to their primary residence from that province to isolate for 14 days unless they fall under one of the listed exceptions.

Read more.

Other COVID-19 news across Canada today:

Nunavut is reporting six new cases of COVID-19, all in Iqaluit, bringing the city’s total to 28 cases. The city of about 8,000 people, the only place in Nunavut with active cases, is under a strict lockdown with schools, non-essential businesses and government offices closed.

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NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wants Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to consider invoking the federal Emergencies Act given the dire pandemic outlook in Ontario. In a letter to Trudeau, Singh says such a declaration could help ensure a more co-ordinated delivery of vaccines to those who need them most.

Manitobans 40 and older are now able to get the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. The province reported 108 new COVID-19 cases and no new deaths today.

Quebec is reporting 1,092 new COVID-19 cases today and 15 more deaths. Despite the notable drop in new, daily infections, health officials reported 686 hospitalizations, a rise of three, and 183 people in intensive care, a rise of eight.

Ontario is reporting 4,447 new cases of COVID-19 today and 19 more deaths. The Health Department is reporting that 2,202 people are hospitalized with the disease, with 755 people in ICU and 516 on ventilators.

Nova Scotia is reporting 15 new cases of COVID-19 today and now has 63 active cases.

Monday

Alberta begins rolling out AstraZeneca COVID vaccine for those aged 40 or older

Alberta will officially allow people as young as 40 to get the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine starting tomorrow, with some pharmacies already opening up today.

Tom McMillan, who’s a spokesman for Alberta Health, says there are about 170,000 doses available and appointments will be booked for as long as supplies last. He says it’s not clear when the next AstraZeneca batches will arrive.

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AstraZeneca is one of a number of COVID-19 vaccines being administered, but the only one Alberta is making available to people as young as 40.

Read more.

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Monday

Hospitalizations continue to rise; ICU admissions now at 103

Alberta ICU admissions surpassed 100 for the first time since the end of January.

Intensive-care patients represent 23 per cent of Alberta’s 451 total hospitalizations, as 103 people are now receiving care in ICUs. And with another 1,516 cases of COVID-19 reported Sunday, including 800 variant cases, hospitalizations are expected to continue climbing.

Variant cases account for 54.5 per cent of the province’s active cases.

The total new cases of COVID-19 in Alberta logged on Sunday came from 15,343 tests for a positivity rate of 9.8 per cent.

Three additional deaths were reported, including a man in his 70s who was linked to an outbreak at Trinity Reformed Church in Lethbridge, a man in his 60s from the South zone and a man in his 70s from the Edmonton zone.

Read more.

Monday

More COVID-19 outbreaks declared at Calgary daycares and preschools

More child-care facilities are appearing on Alberta’s list of active COVID-19 outbreaks.

Within the City of Calgary alone, there are now seven daycares or preschools considered to have active outbreaks. One month prior, there were only two outbreaks at city child-care centres.

An outbreak is declared when there are five or more cases at one child-care location, and are declared over when four weeks have passed since the last case was identified.

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Monday

Wanted: People who survived COVID-19 — and are willing to be reinfected

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People who have fought off the COVID-19 virus will be deliberately reinfected in a first-of-its-kind trial at the University of Oxford that may shed light on how to develop more effective vaccines against the pathogen.

Researchers are looking for 64 healthy, previously COVID-infected volunteers from 18 to 30 years-old to be studied under controlled, quarantined conditions for at least 17 days, the U.K. university said Monday. Participants will be infected with the original strain from Wuhan, China and followed for a year.

Read more.

Monday

There’s a new ‘double mutant’ COVID-19 variant in India. How worried should we be?

With India’s daily tally of COVID-19 infections surging by records, public health experts worry that a new — possibly more virulent — coronavirus variant could be racing through the crowded nation of more than 1.3 billion people.

The new variant, which has a so-called double mutation, is thought to be fueling India’s deadlier new wave of cases that has made it the world’s second worst-hit country, surpassing Brazil again, and has already begun to overwhelm its hospitals and crematoriums. India has reported more than 14.5 million COVID-19 cases so far and more than 175,600 fatalities.

Read more.