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Stay tuned to this page for the latest news on COVID-19 throughout the day
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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 pharmacies offering COVID-19 vaccine
This map shows all 48 Calgary pharmacies that are offering the COVID-19 vaccine. Currently the vaccine is open to all Albertans born in the year 1946 or earlier. Appointments are still necessary and can be booked by contacting the participating pharmacies. Details on booking your vaccine jab at a pharmacy can be found here.
One dead in COVID-19 outbreak at Cardston Health Centre
One person has died in a COVID-19 outbreak at the Cardston Health Centre.
The outbreak was declared on Feb. 25, according to AHS. Four other patients have tested positive for the virus. There are no reports of any staff testing positive.
Due to the outbreak, visitation is restricted to end-of-life situations at the health centre.
A similar outbreak is being reported at the Strathmore Hospital.
In that outbreak, which was first reported on Feb. 7, six patients and two health care workers have tested positive for COVID-19. There have been no deaths associated with this outbreak, but patient visitation is limited at the hospital’s acute care unit, except in end-of-life situations.
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Hinshaw to provide update at 3:30 p.m.
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Watch for a livestream of Dr. Deena Hinshaw’s provincial update on this page.
Hinshaw expected to address second dose timing today
Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw is expected to provide an update Wednesday on how second doses of COVID-19 vaccines will roll out in Alberta.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro has previously said Alberta was considering extending the amount of time between doses to allow for more people to be vaccinated but he did not say exactly how long that extension would be. On Monday, British Columbia health officials announced that province is extending the time people may have to wait between doses to 16 weeks from six weeks.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunizations (NACI) is expected to issue a statement on extending the dose interval on Wednesday.
Read more.
Feds announce extension of wage and rent subsidies
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced businesses will be able to access federal wage and rent subsidies through the spring.
“This isn’t the time to pull back on support for workers or business owners,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a briefing. Ottawa has paid out more than $66 billion (US$52.4 billion) in wage subsidies and $1.6 billion in rent subsidies, according to official data.
The new extension will run from March 14 to June 5.
Subsidy rates will remain unchanged at 75 per cent for wages and 65 per cent for rent.
A federal lockdown support program is also being extended for the same timeframe.
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– With files from Bloomberg
Explosion strikes Dutch COVID-19 test centre, police call it an attack
A blast struck a coronavirus testing centre north of Amsterdam before sunrise on Wednesday, shattering windows but causing no injuries in what police called an intentional attack.
An explosives team visited the site in the town of Bovenkarspel, 55 km (35 miles) from the capital, where police said a metal cylinder involved in the explosion had been recovered.
It “must have been placed” there, police spokesman Menno Hartenberg told Reuters. “Something like that doesn’t just happen by accident.”
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What happens after my COVID shots? Masking, social distancing, still recommended, but some experts want different approach
With the promise of more generous supplies and millions of Canadians to be vaccinated by late spring, many are asking, “what happens after I’ve had my shots?”
The official guidance from Canada’s national immunization advisory committee remains that “all individuals should continue to practice recommended public health measures” — distancing, masking and isolation and quarantine if exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID — regardless of vaccination.
But McGill University’s Daniel Weinstock said what’s needed is more nuanced, harm-reduction messaging around what people might cautiously do once vaccinated. “The danger is always people might end up taking chances of their own, because a blanket set of prohibitions at this point, after a year, is just too much to handle.”
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Dolly Parton gets Moderna COVID-19 vaccine she helped fund
Country legend Dolly Parton has officially received the COVID-19 vaccine she helped fund.
The singer shared a photo of herself receiving a shot from a doctor at Nashville’s Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee on her Instagram account on Tuesday.
Dolly added the caption: “Dolly gets a dose of her own medicine,” referencing the $1 million she donated to fund COVID-19 vaccine research at Vanderbilt last year.
Read more.
David Staples: COVID brain is real and it’s making us all crazy
Edmonton Journal columnist David Staples writes:
If there’s not an official condition known as COVID brain, there should be.
I suffer from it now and then. I strongly suspect you do as well.
It’s a condition caused by too much intake of inflammatory and contradictory information about COVID, about whether or not lockdowns or masks work, about the pros and cons of various medical treatments, and about the conflicting information on vaccine supply and safety.
Read more.
Tuesday
Shandro says province is considering changing its second dose strategy
Health Minister Tyler Shandro said Tuesday there could be an upcoming announcement on the province’s strategy around delaying second doses to ensure more people get their first dose, although he did not indicate a timeline.
Studies out of the U.K. have shown that the first dose of certain vaccines delivers significant immunity. Quebec and B.C. have both opted to delay the second dose for many in favour of giving more people that first dose.
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The health minister indicated Alberta may be ready to follow suit.
“We are considering it,” said Shandro. “We have received that advice from physicians and our provincial vaccine advisory community that’s made up of physicians and public health folks. There’s fantastic evidence that’s coming out of the United Kingdom, as well as Quebec and B.C. for us to feel certain that the length of time between first and second dose for messenger RNA vaccines to be extended.”
He said the exact length of time is to be determined, but they will be “announcing it soon.”
Read more.
Tuesday
Albertans least confident in provincial vaccine rollout plan, Leger national COVID-19 survey finds
Only 36 per cent of Alberta respondents said they have confidence in the province’s plan to get everyone a vaccine who wants one by September. The Prairie provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan follow in uncertainty with 48 per cent confidence in the survey released Monday.
Read more.
Tuesday
Stampede finances lasso $26.5-million loss in pandemic year, putting viability in question
In a 2020 that saw the first cancellation of its signature summer event in 108 years, the Calgary Stampede was saddled with $26.5 million in red ink.
That result came even after nearly $16 million in government COVID-19 aid and grants and follows a $2.2 million in excess revenue over expenses in 2019.
That unprecedented cancellation led to a $3.1-million loss on the 10-day rodeo and midway bash last year compared to $24 million in blank ink in 2019 — a deficit offset by $57 million savings on expenses.
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Tuesday
Alberta gym owners won’t be ticketed for violating relaxed COVID-19 measures: Shandro
The province won’t look to issue fines to operators of gyms and fitness studios that violate Alberta’s relaxed public health rules, Health Minister Tyler Shandro said Tuesday.
The health minister said enforcement will be a “last resort” for gyms that don’t comply with the precautions.
“We recognize that this is challenging and there are going to be questions, there are going to be issues about exactly how to apply this in practice,” Shandro said.
“I want to be clear. We’re relying on owners and clients to use judgment, to show good faith, people to follow the rules. But as with all of AHS’ work to enforce public health measures, the goal is compliance, it’s not sanctions. We’re not looking for opportunities to hand out tickets. We’re not looking to close businesses.”
Read more.
Tuesday
Calgary’s expanded patios, temporary pedestrian space for COVID distancing will return
The city is preparing to bring back expanded restaurant patios and extra space for pedestrians as the COVID-19 pandemic heads toward its second spring.
Development permit fees will be waived again this year for restaurants and bars to expand their patios onto sidewalks, parking lots or other available space. The move helps clear the way to seat more people outdoors as eateries comply with capacity limits during public-health restrictions.
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Tuesday
257 new cases, two deaths
Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw and Health Minister Tyler Shandro provided a COVID-19 update on Tuesday afternoon
- AHS is upgrading the online vaccine booking tool on Wednesday from 2-4 a.m., which will improve capacity, Hinshaw said
- More than 245,000 doses of vaccine administered; more than 88,000 Albertans fully vaccinated
- 257 new cases of COVID-19 on 5,864 tests; 4.5% positivity rate
- 261 in hospital; 54 in ICUs
- Two additional deaths; 1,890 total
- 4,631 active cases; 127,531 recovered
- 35 additional variant cases; 492 total
- Active alerts or outbreaks in 228 schools; 876 cases in these schools since Jan. 11
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You can watch the full update below.
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Tuesday
AHS orders bar closed after previous order ignored
A Calgary bar has been ordered to close by Alberta Health Services after it didn’t adhere to an earlier citation.
Outlaws Taphouse and Bar, located at 110, 1830 52 St. S.E., was ordered to submit a written relaunch plan on Feb. 23 after an AHS inspector observed a staff member working the bar and providing table service without wearing a mask. The inspector also found that dine-in customer contact information had not been recorded for at least six days. Recording customer contact information is a requirement meant to help contact tracers find patrons who may have been exposed to COVID-19.
The bar was given until Friday last week to comply. It didn’t, so AHS issued a notice of closure Tuesday.
Outlaws was previously cited by AHS in December for operating past closing time; inspectors found a table with full beers after 11 p.m. on Dec. 12.
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