Alberta looks to enter Stage 2 of reopening this week

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Public health restrictions are expected to be further eased this week in Alberta, as the number of COVID-19 patients requiring critical care dips below 100 for the first time since mid-April.

The province is scheduled to enter Stage 2 of the reopening strategy on Thursday, so long as hospitalizations remain below 500 and declining. The step would see fewer restrictions for most industries, outdoor gatherings, outdoor sports, seated public gatherings and weddings.

“This week we will be moving into the next stage of Alberta’s summer reopening plan,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said on Twitter on Sunday.

“Please continue to follow public health measures: refrain from indoor gatherings, wear a mask in indoor spaces and stay home if you’re sick.”

The second stage includes the reopening of indoor recreation, such as movie theatres, recreation centres, casinos and libraries, at a third of fire-code capacity. Many of these businesses have been shuttered for several months because most indoor recreation wasn’t given the green light to reopen between Alberta’s second and third waves of infections.

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Places of worship would also be able to admit one-third of their fire-code capacity, and restaurants could seat tables of six inside or on a patio.

Stage 2 would also reintroduce youth activities such as day camps, overnight camps and play centres, with restrictions, while youth and adult sports would be permitted without most measures. Weddings and funeral services will have lifted capacities, and outdoor public gatherings such as concerts or festivals can host up to 150 people.

Mandatory masks and physical distancing measures will still be in place during the second step of reopening.

The province is also on track to meet the requirements for a fully open summer by late June, as promised by Premier Jason Kenney in May.

Stage 3 requires 70 per cent vaccine coverage, and is set to start two weeks after 70 per cent of eligible Albertans have received at least a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The two-week wait allows time for the vaccine to take effect.

By the end-of-day Saturday, more than three million doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered — a significant milestone in the province’s rollout.

Sixty-six per cent of Alberta’s population age 12 and over has received at least one dose of vaccine.

Alberta has administered a total 3,057,662 doses, including 529,502 second shots — which means 13.9 per cent of the eligible population is fully immunized with two.

In an effort to get first doses to those in Calgary’s northeast and southeast communities, where rates of vaccination are lowest in the city, a walk-in COVID-19 vaccine clinic at the Village Square Leisure Centre took place over the weekend.

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The clinic — which was open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday — had 5,000 doses available. By 6 p.m. Sunday, it had made its way through about 2,052 of those.

On Saturday, Anila Lee Yeun, CEO of the Centre for Newcomers, said turn out had been great.

“The overwhelming feeling and sentiment really has been that this is really convenient. Many people have been waiting for a long time. We’ve had some seniors who weren’t able to get out, even though they were eligible for vaccination early on,” she said.

A drive-thru vaccination clinic is opening in the northeast on Monday for those booking appointments through Alberta Health Services.

The drive-thru clinic, at 911 32nd Ave. N.E., can book up to 1,000 appointments daily and will operate from 8:20 a.m. to 9:20 p.m., seven days a week. The site was being used as an overflow testing centre during the peak of the third wave but has been transformed into a vaccination clinic since case rates have declined.

The number of active cases dropped below 5,000 on Sunday for the first time since March 16. There are now 4,884 active cases provincewide, including 1,997 in the Calgary zone.

Alberta reported 231 new cases Sunday from 5,337 tests, for a positivity rate of about 4.3 per cent.

For the first time since April 16, Alberta hospitals have fewer than 100 COVID-19 patients in intensive-care units. As of Sunday, there are 360 in hospital, including 96 in ICUs.

This was down from the 373 Albertans in hospital, including 105 in ICUs, reported on Saturday.

Kenney encouraged everyone to do their part by getting vaccinated.

“Great news today with COVID ICU admissions moving below 100, as infection numbers continue to drop. Thank you, Alberta,” Kenney said on Twitter on Sunday afternoon.

No new deaths from COVID-19 were reported Sunday, so the province’s death toll remains at 2,246.

— With files from Jason Herring

sbabych@postmedia.com
Twitter: @BabychStephanie