COVID-19 Live Updates: News on coronavirus in Calgary for March 24

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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.

Pharmacies in and around Calgary offering COVID-19 vaccine

This map shows 53 pharmacies in Calgary, Chestermere and Airdrie offering the COVID-19 vaccine. More locations will be added in the coming days, according to the provincial government. Appointments are still required and can be booked by contacting the participating pharmacies. Details on eligibility and booking can be found here.

WestJet to resume its pre-COVID Canadian network by late June

WestJet announced Wednesday it will resume flights to five eastern locations this summer after pausing service due to COVID-19.

Flights to Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Sydney and Quebec City will begin again on June 24. The company had pressed pause on those flights in November of last year.

Also, flights between St. John’s and Halifax will resume on May 6, and flights between St. John’s and Toronto will resume on June 24.

The return of service to those locations by late June will restore the airline’s full network of pre-COVID-19 airports in Canada, it said.

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In February, WestJet also temporarily halted flights to Lloydminster, Medicine Hat and London, Ont. with a promise to restart those services on June 24. Customers can book flights to those cities as of June 24 on the WestJet website.

Earlier this year, WestJet CEO Ed Simms said the company’s flight volumes were down 90 per cent year-over-year because of reduced demand for travel due to COVID-19.

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Tuesday

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Tuesday

Alberta expands rapid testing program as province reports 197 new variant cases

Alberta’s rapid testing program is expanding to include businesses, not-for-profits and service providers as the government looks to distribute about two million rapid tests to employers.

The expansion of rapid testing will offer workers peace of mind and help slow the spread of COVID-19 in workplaces, Jim Dewald, dean of the Haskayne School of Business, explained Tuesday. Haskayne has participated in a national pilot program that’s tested rapid screening with 12 large Canadian companies, like Suncor and Scotiabank.

“It’s given their staff a much higher level of confidence. It’s a morale booster because workers know the company is concerned about their health and they feel more comfortable that they aren’t unknowingly spreading the virus,” said Dewald.

The rapid testing kits help to identify pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals so they can isolate themselves earlier and prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus.

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Tuesday

465 new cases, three deaths

Alberta’s latest COVID-19 numbers were delayed by a technical issue. There was no live update on Tuesday afternoon from chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

The latest numbers:

• 465 new cases on 7,328 tests; 6.6% positivity rate
• 290 in hospital; 53 in ICUs
• Three deaths; 1,971 deaths
• 6,231 active cases; 134,653 recovered
• 197 new variant cases

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Tuesday

Braid: Government gets cap on pay but doctors’ vote on deal in doubt

Columnist Don Braid writes:

The government and the Alberta Medical Association have agreed to the figure, but there’s no guarantee the majority of AMA members will approve.

The stakes are enormous here. Rejection of the deal by doctors would again throw the whole system into the kind of bitter conflict we saw in 2020, after the government unilaterally scrapped the existing compensation agreement.

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Tuesday

Government officials mum on what further steps can be taken on church that has continuously defied public health orders

Various levels of government are remaining coy over what steps might next be considered to enforce public health orders after fines, charges and even jail time have had little deterrence on large gatherings at a church’s services west of Edmonton.

GraceLife Church’s membership has continued to gather for Sunday services despite RCMP officers and Alberta Health Services inspectors appearing each week to ensure public health measures aimed at stemming the spread of COVID-19 are followed. RCMP has issued several releases saying those measures were not followed while they were on scene.

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Tuesday

Only 1.5% of air travellers tested positive for COVID-19: Health Canada

Only a small percentage of travellers entering Canada since the end of February tested positive for COVID-19.

Health Canada data obtained by the Toronto Sun on Tuesday shows that 640 of the 44,089 travellers who arrived in Canada by air between Feb. 22 and March 15 tested positive for COVID-19.

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Tuesday

Hinshaw says shipment delay should not affect current vaccine appointments

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Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Tuesday that there has been a delay in picking up Moderna vaccine shipments from Belgium, but this won’t affect people who have already booked their appointments.

“While delays are disappointing, this should not impact any existing bookings,” wrote HInshaw in a tweet. “Some pharmacies have been cancelling or re-booking appointments because of last week’s delay in Moderna vaccine. But these two are unrelated.”

She said while delays are frustrating, shipments continue to roll in and the province anticipates having a first shot for everyone by the end of June.

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