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

Article content

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

Article content

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 had an upcoming surgery postponed? Do you have a family member in the ICU, or have you recovered after spending time in the ICU? 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.

Hinshaw to give update at 3:30 p.m.

Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw will give an update on the province’s COVID-19 numbers at 3:30 p.m. today

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

Canada’s vaccination rate now outpacing other countries

University of Calgary economist Trevor Tombe has been tracking vaccination rates among various countries, and he’s found that Canada is about to surpass the United States when measuring the percentage of population with at least one dose.

Article content

He says Canada would overtake the next four leading countries within three weeks. Israel, the country leading the world in per capita vaccinations, has seen uptake plateau below 75 per cent of the population.

The U.K., which is currently in second place, is on track to vaccinate 75 per cent of its population with at least one dose by August, while Canada will hit that mark in July if the current pace countries.

Canada’s vaccine uptake pace is 0.89 per cent of the population per day, based on a seven day average. The U.K.’s pace is 0.26 per cent per day.

U of C survey looks for Calgarians’ opinions on face masks

University of Calgary researchers are hoping to uncover the motivations behind people’s refusal or resistance to wear a mask in hopes of developing “more effective communications” for the City of Calgary.

The group recently launched a survey, which is open to all Calgarians over the age of 18, that will examine participants’ attitudes and actions related to COVID-19 and face coverings.

“It’s important for us to understand these behaviours for public safety in terms of reducing spread of the virus but also because of the angst that it causes Calgarians and business owners and the pressure that it puts on city officials,” said Dr. Katrina Milaney, an associate professor at the university’s Cumming School of Medicine, in a statement.

Milaney said examining these motivations is “top of mind” for city officials and researchers as anti-mask rallies thunder through the city on a regular basis amid “growing refusal” to wear a mask by locals.

Article content

The online survey is open to Calgarians aged 18 or older, and can be found at w21c.org/face-masks.

The researchers behind the city want to hear from a wide range of Calgarians living in all parts of the city. They’re hoping for 1,000 responses.

Read more.

Canadian workers are ready to come back to the office

Most workers in Canada want to return to the office, but about three quarters prefer a “hybrid” model that allows some flexibility to work remotely, according to a survey of about 2,000 people done for KPMG.

Half of respondents said they’re more productive and effective in a virtual work environment. That was a drop from 59 per cent in a similar survey a year ago, suggesting that 14 months of work-from-home arrangements are taking a toll on some employees.

Read more.

How much COVID-19 can we live with? Experts offer glimpses of a post-pandemic future

With vaccinations surging across Canada, and confirmed COVID case counts and hospitalizations at a national level declining, the other side of the pandemic is drawing tantalizingly, mercifully closer and experts are beginning to offer glimpses of the future.

There are still many unknowns, and only speculations as to “what next,” but the story that began with a pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, China 17 months ago won’t end abruptly, epidemiologists say.

“We will not eradicate COVID-19, at least not probably for the next decade,” Dr. Peter Jüni, scientific director of Ontario’s COVID-19 science advisory table told a recent Ontario Medical Association briefing. Instead, the virus will shift to being a seasonal disease, something more like a “tedious influenza,” Jüni said.

Article content

Read more.

Premier Doug Ford to announce Ontario’s reopening plan today

Premier Doug Ford will make an announcement about Ontario’s reopening plan today.

Ford will be joined by Health Minister Christine Elliott and the province’s top doctor at a news conference at 3 p.m.

A stay-at-home order aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 in Ontario was extended last week and is currently set to lift June 2.

A spokeswoman for Ford has said Ontario will not return to the tiered colour-coded restrictions system it used before imposing the stay-at-home order.

Read more.

Oilsands workers based outside Canada exempt from border restrictions, 14-day quarantine

Foreign citizens entering Alberta to work in the oilsands have been exempt from federal COVID-19 restrictions at the border since June 2020, including the 14-day quarantine.

Alberta Health spokesperson Tom McMillan said in a Tuesday email these workers were declared essential after the federal government granted them permission to cross the border. The province’s guidelines on exempt workers have been online since last spring.

“They can go to work without the quarantine. That’s the federal provision and we mirror it,” said McMillan in an email, adding they are still required to follow the province’s health restrictions.

Read more.

Wednesday

Calgary K-12 students will return to in-person classes May 25 as 908 new COVID-19 cases reported

Students across most of Alberta will be back in the classroom next week after schools went online for most of the month.

Article content

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange said all kindergarten to Grade 12 students in the province would return to school on May 25, following the Victoria Day weekend, with the exception of one Alberta region with continued high COVID-19 case rates. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, which includes Fort McMurray, will remain virtual until May 31.

The choice to close schools near the start of May was an operational decision, not a public health one, LaGrange stressed. She said the main concern was high numbers of students and staff having to isolate due to cases of the novel coronavirus detected in schools.

Read more.

Results of our poll from yesterday:

Article content

Wednesday

Indigenous-led immunization clinic expands reach to youth and vulnerable community members

Following the success of an Indigenous-led immunization clinic’s Phase 2 vaccinations, efforts are expanding to include younger Indigenous people, newcomers, refugees and migrant workers.

It is the third project led by a coalition of organizations, which include the Aboriginal Friendship Centre of Calgary (AFCC), Siksika Health Services, OKAKI and Seven Brothers Circle, that prioritizes cultural safety and counters vaccine misinformation.

Read more.

Wednesday

Students to return to classrooms on Tuesday: LaGrange

Education Minister Adriana LaGrange joined Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw to give an update on in-class learning and COVID-19 in the province on Wednesday afternoon.

Article content

Article content

Watch the livestream below.

Article content

Wednesday

Article content

Wednesday

More restrictions to be relaxed on long-term care homes on May 31

Article content

Article content

Article content

Wednesday

Construction of Calgary Cancer Centre continues despite widening COVID-19 outbreak

Work on the long-awaited Calgary Cancer Centre hasn’t been halted by a COVID-19 outbreak that’s spread dramatically among staff at the site.

As of Monday, there had been 66 cases of the disease among workers at the construction site located at the Foothills Medical Centre, up from 35 the previous Friday.

Of those, 26 were active cases in what Alberta Health describes as a “significant” outbreak.

Read more.

Wednesday

Heritage Park and Calaway Park set to open with restrictions, using lessons learned from last season

Fun but safe is the goal for many Calgary area attractions gearing up to open in the coming weeks as COVID-19 protocols remain strict across the province.

Following a 2020 season that saw varied opening dates and attractions, two of the city’s biggest sites are taking the lessons they learned from last year to remain flexible but confident in their opening plans for 2021.

Calaway Park, though ready to open the May long weekend, has decided to wait until June 5 to officially welcome guests back into the park.

Read more.

Wednesday

Kenney announces creation of Alberta Jobs Now Program

Applications will be accepted starting Thursday for a massive jobs training program that Premier Jason Kenney said could put more than 22,000 Albertans back to work.

The program, dubbed Alberta Jobs Now, will be the largest jobs training program in the province’s history, Kenney said Wednesday. Up to $370 million in funding — $185 million from the provincial government and $185 million in matching funds from the federal government — will be made available to private and non-profit employers in the form of grants to cover salary or training costs for unemployed or underemployed Albertans.

Employers will be able to apply for a grant that covers 25 per cent of an employee’s salary for a 52-week period up to a maximum of $25,000 for each employee. Employers who hire individuals with disabilities will receive a grant 1.5 times higher than the amount they receive for other new employees.

Article content

Read more.

Watch the press conference here:

Article content