COVID-19 Live Updates: News on coronavirus in Calgary for March 8

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 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.

Report: All that PPE Canadians are using is creating a lot of waste

Public Health Agency staff said regulators should be “developing programs to reduce litter,” after estimating by July 1, all Canadians will have used 1.8 billion surgical masks, 490 million disposable gowns, 91 million face shields and four million goggles.

Read more.

Online vaccine booking tool to be upgraded again

Alberta Health Services’ online vaccine booking tool will be offline early Tuesday morning to undergo another upgrade.

AHS said in a release the tool will be unavailable from midnight to 2 a.m. on Tuesday as it is upgraded “to prepare for the next wave of eligible Albertans.” The outage also affects vaccine booking through 811, but Albertans can still call the Health Link number if they want to receive medical advice from a registered nurse.

Article content

Albertans looking to book vaccine appointments during the outage can still go through their pharmacies on the Alberta Blue Cross website.

AstraZeneca vaccine booking opens Wednesday

Older adults and more Indigenous people in Alberta who don’t have a chronic illness will be able to sign up for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine starting on Wednesday.

Vaccination appointments will open by birth year, one year at a time, for adults aged 50-64, as well as First Nations, Metis and Inuit people aged 35-49 for the first 58,500 doses.

Read more.

Alberta entering full second step of economic relaunch, reports 278 new cases of COVID-19

Alberta is moving forward with the full second step of economic relaunch after a portion of the plan was delayed last week due to concerning case counts, the province’s health minister announced Monday.

With hospitalizations, intensive-care unit admissions and fatalities trending downward and the acceleration of vaccine rollout, Health Minister Tyler Shandro said it is safe to proceed with the strategy to reopen businesses and ease restrictions. However, he continued to advocate for patience and adherence to the measures in place.

Read more.

Alberta to move fully into Step 2 of reopening: Shandro

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, and Health Minister Tyler Shandro gave an update on COVID-19 on Monday afternoon.

• The province will move fully into Step 2 of reopening, Shandro said
• Capacity limit expanded for retail sector from 15% of fire code occupancy to 25%
• Lessons, physical conditioning programs now allowed for post-secondary athletic teams
• Restrictions loosened on rehearsing for group and individual performances
• Banquet and community halls, conference centres and hotels are allowed to open for activities permitted under Step 1 and Step 2
• Province will discuss Step 3 on March 22 at the earliest, Shandro said

Article content

The latest COVID-19 numbers for Alberta:

• About 297,000 doses of vaccine administered; more than 91,000 Albertans fully immunized
• Every resident in long-term care and designated supportive living have been fully immunized, Shandro said
• 278 new cases on 5,485 tests; 5.4% positivity rate
• 254 in hospital; 36 in ICUs
• Six additional deaths; 1,920 total
• 4,633 active cases; 129,566 recovered
• Six new variant cases; 659 total
• R-value provincewide 0.95 for last week
• Active alerts or outbreaks in 251 schools; 961 cases since Jan. 11 in these schools

Article content

Watch the full livestream below.

Article content

Article content

Alberta asking for proposals to build its own vaccine manufacturing industry: Economy minister

The Alberta government is asking for proposals on domestic vaccine manufacturing, a way to explore the potential for a future vaccine market in the province.

Doug Schweitzer, the minister of jobs, economy and innovation, told the National Post in an interview that there could be promising projects that could emerge from this process — and government money to help pay for it.

Read more.

Calgarians can now follow the flush to track the spread of COVID-19

Trends in the city’s spread of COVID-19 can be tracked in real-time by the flushing of Calgary’s toilets.

The testing of wastewater can accurately determine the presence of the deadly virus and determine where it’s prevalent. And that data is now available online due to a partnership between the University of Calgary, the city and Alberta Health Services.

“Wastewater data is unbiased and comprehensive,” said Dr. Michael Parkins, associate professor at the Cumming School of Medicine.

“It captures all cases in a defined population, including symptomatic and asymptomatic cases – not just in diagnosed cases.”

Read more.

Quick approval by Health Canada took Pfizer by surprise: CEO

The president of Pfizer Canada says when the company signed a purchase agreement last August it didn’t expect its vaccine to get approved here until February.

Cole Pinnow also told the House of Commons health committee today that changes to the dosing schedule and conflicting advice could make more people vaccine hesitant.

Article content

On Aug. 1, Canada signed an agreement with Pfizer to buy at least 20 million doses, with the option to buy 56 million more, and approval was not expected until early 2021. Health Canada ended up approving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in December 2020.

Read more.

COVID-19 developments across Canada on Monday

Manitoba is expanding its vaccination program again. The minimum age to book an appointment for the general public is being dropped by five years — to 60 and up for First Nations people and 80 and up for all others.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says March 11 will be a “national day of observance” for the COVID-19 pandemic. The day is meant to commemorate the 22,000 people in Canada who have died from the disease and to acknowledge all the other ways lives have changed over the past year. The day is also meant to honour workers in health care and other essential front-line services.

Ontario is reporting 1,631 new cases of COVID-19 and 10 more deaths today. The province says the daily case count is higher than expected due to a “data catch-up process” in its system. Ontario has lifted its stay-at-home order in Toronto, Peel Region and North Bay, the last three regions where it was still in effect.

Quebec is reporting 579 new cases of COVID-19 as well as nine additional deaths due to the illness. Hospitalizations declined by two to 590, with 108 people in intensive care, which is one more than a day earlier.

Canada is set to receive 910,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses this week as pharmaceutical companies ramp up deliveries to make good on their contractual obligations by the end of the month. The Public Health Agency of Canada says the country will receive nearly 445,000 shots from Pfizer-BioNTech for the second week running as the companies settle into a rhythm following a lengthy lull in January and much of February.

Article content

Canada ranks worse than most developed countries in COVID-19 ‘misery index,’ study says

Canada has had a miserable time coping with COVID-19, according to new research that seeks to take the broadest possible measure of the country’s pandemic response, accounting for everything from mortality rates to economic malaise.

A “misery index” published by the Ottawa-based Macdonald-Laurier Institute on Monday suggests that overall well-being in Canada has suffered more than average, ranking 11th out of 15 countries on a scale of miserableness.

Read more.

Calgary libraries to reopen Wednesday; more city recreation to resume this week

Calgary libraries will reopen and city recreation centres will resume some fitness classes this week following the easing of provincial public health restrictions.

Libraries will be restricted to a maximum 15-per-cent capacity, excluding staff. Locations were ordered to close in December after a rapidly rising wave of COVID-19 prompted Alberta’s government to introduce lockdown-style restrictions.

After being shut down for nearly three months, Calgary Public Library branches will reopen with reduced hours beginning Wednesday, and will resume regular hours March 15.

Article content

Expanded group and individual fitness activities will also be available at five recreation centres in Calgary. The Bob Bahan, Canyon Meadows, Killarney and Sir Winston Churchill recreation centres are already open, and the Thornhill Aquatic and Fitness Centre will join them on March 8.

Read more.

Restrictions easing in some provinces; vaccinations cut infections by 89% in Ontario care homes

Restrictions meant to stem the spread of COVID-19 were easing in some parts of Canada on Monday, while U.S. public health officials signalled a partial return to normal is possible for anyone who has been fully vaccinated against the virus.

Ontario lifted stay-at-home orders in Toronto, Peel Region and North Bay — the last three regions subject to the government’s strictest measures introduced two months ago.

A new report from scientists advising the Ontario government says vaccinations in long-term care homes have helped cut infections by 89 per cent and deaths by 96 per cent in the eight weeks since inoculations began in December.

Read more.

The baby bust is here: Birth rates are falling despite our close quarters

It’s commonly held that a power outage or a holiday can lead to a spike in birth rates nine months later. In fact, August has been noted as the month with the highest number of births — possibly thanks to December merrymaking.

And, so it would seem a baby boom might come during or after the pandemic-caused lockdown. After all, what were people to do indoors but pause, ponder and procreate?

Article content

In fact, the pandemic has caused a “baby bust” in many places.

Read more.

Tristin Hopper: How Canadian public health allowed itself to be steamrolled by COVID-19

The National Post’s Tristin Hopper writes:

Read more.

Corbella: Women’s roles appreciated through COVID, but does their pay reflect that?

Columnist Licia Corbella writes:

Irene Shankar, associate professor and assistant chair in the department of sociology and anthropology at Calgary’s Mount Royal University, said it’s wonderful that the world is heaping praise and thanks upon often neglected and unrecognized segments of our population, but that’s not enough.

“I think there was a lot more obvious appreciation for our nurses and health-care aides. So from like in England, to Spain, to Canada and many other countries, we saw this international movement of people very publicly thanking our front-line health-care workers by banging pots and pans and on social media, it was all over the place but these are largely gendered workers whose pay does not match that level of gratitude.”

Article content

Shankar, who specializes in medical sociology, says anytime women move into a profession in large numbers, the pay starts to decline appreciably, including in medicine.

“So we can say we appreciate them as a society, we can bang pots and pans for them, but have we really appreciated them when they’re not being paid equally there, when our level of appreciation doesn’t match even marginally what they’re paid and when they continue to be the brunt of government budget cuts?” asks Shankar.

Read more.

From Florida to ‘Frisco, Americans flock to movies, bars and ballparks after winter of worry

From the crack of the baseball bat in Florida to clinking of cocktails in San Francisco bars, the sounds of spring are in the air as Americans start to return to many of the beloved pastimes they were forced to abandon 12 months ago.

With cities and states loosening restrictions as new COVID-19 cases recede and the rollout of vaccines accelerates, people are enjoying a taste of their old lives again.

Over the past weekend, New Yorkers watched movies on the big screen, San Franciscans dined indoors, and baseball fans cheered on their favorite big-league players as spring training resumed in Florida.

Read more.

Sunday

Alberta detects 54 new variant cases of COVID-19; Hinshaw encourages people to get vaccinated

Another 54 highly contagious variant cases of COVID-19 were detected in Alberta as the province reported a four-per-cent test positivity rate on Sunday.

Article content

The number of variant cases identified in Alberta toppled 600 on Sunday, with another 51 cases of B.1.1.7, the variant from the U.K., and three cases of B.1.351, the strain first detected in South Africa. Alberta has now logged 653 variant cases since they spread to the province several weeks ago.

An estimated 300 new cases of COVID-19 were reported Sunday. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, provided the update on Twitter instead of on Alberta Health’s website due to a system upgrade. Sunday’s update did not include all the usual daily data because of this.

Read more.

Sunday

Calgary program aims to help ‘long COVID’ patients manage symptoms

A Calgary respiratory physiotherapist is launching a free program to aid Albertans still suffering from debilitating symptoms of COVID-19 weeks or months after contracting the novel coronavirus.

Jessica DeMars is looking to recruit Albertans for a virtual, eight-week pilot of the program, called Breath, Speak, Pace.

It’s an adaptation of an existing program DeMars has helped to run for the last four years, adjusted to help those living with ‘long COVID.’

According to the World Health Organization, as many as 35 per cent of patients who were symptomatic with COVID-19 don’t fully recover in the weeks after their infection. The phenomenon extends even to young adults with no underlying health conditions.

Read more.

Sunday

‘They’re still human beings’: Drumheller prison lockdown causing mental health crisis, inmates’ families say

Article content

Lockdown conditions that have been in place for more than two months at a Drumheller prison unit have led to deteriorating mental health for inmates, prompting one to request a federal investigation into whether the conditions can be justified any further.

Another inmate locked down at the unit since Dec. 22 tried to take his own life in his cell last week, according to his girlfriend, who said she hopes to draw attention to a mental health crisis taking place at Drumheller Institution by sharing his story.

“They’re still human beings. They just need help,” said Shelly Walton.

“They don’t need to be traumatized and tortured, because I don’t know how that’s going to help them go back into society and be a healthy contributing human being.”

Read more.

Sunday

‘It’s been a good week’: Tam hopeful on vaccines as pandemic anniversary nears

Several provinces were preparing to loosen COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday, as Canada’s chief public health officer expressed optimism over vaccines ahead of the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 crisis.

The World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic last March 11, and Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam said it’s been a difficult 12 months marked by hardship and sacrifice.

“Yet, as the months have gone by, I have also witnessed the remarkable courage, strength, and generosity demonstrated by Canadians,” she wrote in a statement.

“Through it all, it is the incredible support that Canadians have shown for one another that has impressed me the most.”

Article content

Tam expressed optimism that brighter days were coming, thanks to the recent approvals of the Johnson & Johnson and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines.

“This week has been a very good week for Canada’s COVID-19 vaccination programs,” she wrote.

Read more.

Sunday

Jailed pastor calls in to service as GraceLife Church violates COVID-19 closure order for sixth time

A Parkland County church held another packed service Sunday morning with its jailed pastor on the phone despite a closure order for COVID-19 restriction violations.

Vehicles packed the parking lot of GraceLife Church before the service and two marked RCMP vehicles were on site. People could be seen singing unmasked, breaking COVID-19 orders, on a livestream of the service.

This was the third-straight service held without church pastor James Coates who remains in the Edmonton Remand Centre. Coates was charged for breaching COVID-19 orders on Feb. 7 and was taken into custody on Feb. 16 after another service was held.

Associate pastor Jacob Spenst conducted Sunday’s service, but said Coates was joining in over the phone although he didn’t speak.

Read more.

Sunday

Casinos and bingo halls readying to reopen as Alberta government forecasts rebound in gaming revenue

Alberta bingo hall operators are readying for a potential influx of visitors if they’re allowed to open in Alberta’s next phase of reopening amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Edmonton’s Castledowns Bingo Hall manager Brenda Pope said Saturday even after the majority of Albertans are immunized, the hall will still need to enforce strict safety precautions, from temperature checks to sanitizing some high-touch surfaces every 20 minutes.

Article content

“We want to make sure we’re still being cautious. So the new normal is going to be much different than the old normal,” said Pope.

Casinos, racetracks and bingo halls were among those originally set to reopen at the beginning of March, but are now slated to reopen as part of Alberta’s Step 3, which could come by the end of March.

Read more.

Sunday

Fauci upbeat on COVID-19 vaccinations for U.S. teens by autumn, younger children next year

WASHINGTON — High school students in the United States should be able to receive COVID-19 vaccinations by the autumn, with younger students likely to be cleared for vaccinations in early 2022, top U.S. infectious disease official Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Sunday.

Fauci said he expected the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue relaxed guidelines for people who have already been vaccinated within “the next couple of days,” but urged continued vigilance on mitigation measures for the over 80 per cent of Americans still awaiting shots.

“We’re going in the right direction. We just need to hang in there a bit longer,” Fauci told CBS. “We want to get those death levels of the virus very, very low, and then we’ll have a much, much easier time to safely pull back” on mitigation measures.

Read more.