COVID-19 Live Updates: News on coronavirus in Calgary for May 25

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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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Alberta legislature’s spring sitting expected to wrap up in June

Alberta’s MLAs returned to the legislature Tuesday after four weeks away and UCP house leader Jason Nixon says he expects them to wrap up for the summer in another three to four weeks.

MLAs were in their constituencies for a week at the end of April before the legislature was suspended by the government for three weeks, citing COVID-19 concerns.

As of Tuesday morning there were 14 bills on the order paper, including the Recall Act and Citizen Initiative Act — two key agenda items for the government during the spring sitting which is scheduled to wrap June 17, though Nixon has the ability to extend that date.

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‘Closer every day’: Hinshaw says easing COVID-19 measures in sight, but province not there yet

Stubbornly high hospitalization rates and high case numbers are holding back easing COVID-19 restrictions, Alberta’s top doctor said Tuesday.

While B.C. announced a plan Tuesday of rolling back restrictions, no such announcement was made in Alberta, though that’s expected Wednesday when Premier Jason Kenney and Health Minister Tyler Shandro hold a press conference.

But while Alberta’s COVID-19 trends are moving in the right direction, including a 52 per cent drop in active cases since the third wave’s peak earlier this month, caution is still needed before restrictions are significantly eased, said Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

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Mobile vaccination clinics still top of mind solution for Calgary communities with lower immunization rates

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Mobile vaccination clinics are still top of mind for city officials looking to bridge the gap in vaccination rates between different regions of Calgary.

The current disparity in vaccination rates is nearly 20 percentage points between the areas with the fewest immunizations per population and the region with the most, Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) Chief Sue Henry said Tuesday, adding that the difference between them is not caused by a lack of desire from residents who want their shot.

“There are some unique barriers for residents and communities that we continue to work with our partners to help address, so we can make vaccines as accessible as possible for all Calgarians,” Henry said during the emergency management committee meeting.

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K-12 students back in class as many struggle with constant changes in routine

As hundreds of thousands of Alberta students head back to in-class learning this week, parents are still struggling with yet another change in a year full of learning disruptions.

While some parents may have chosen to keep kids at home for the last few weeks of school, mother of three Jen Allan decided to send hers back for the social and learning benefits she says they get face to face.

Still, with all of her kids diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, Allan worries about how all of the disruptions and changed routines have impacted her kids’ learning since the start of the pandemic.

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“Today was our fourth first day of school this year. It’s been really stressful on all the kids. Routines are such an important part of learning for kids, yet that keeps being disrupted and I really worry how that will impact them, how that will impact all children later on.”

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Businesses on both sides of the border anxious to welcome back tourists as B.C. expands travel restrictions

British Columbia’s provincial government announced Tuesday they would be easing some COVID-19 restrictions as part of a four-step reopening plan, but it will be until at least mid-June before restrictions preventing non-essential travel will be lifted.

The reopening plan started Tuesday with the relaxations on gatherings, sports events and dining, both indoors and outdoors.

The earliest travel restrictions could be lifted is June 15, with recreational travel permitted only within residents’ regions.

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Kenney to announce Alberta’s reopening plan tomorrow morning

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387 new cases, nine deaths

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw provided an update on COVID-19 in Alberta on Tuesday afternoon.

• 387 new cases on 3,998 tests
• 565 in hospital; 158 in ICUs
• Nine additional deaths; 2,192 total
• 12,078 active cases; 210,764 recovered
• 2,552,317 doses of vaccine administered

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Watch the full livestream of the press conference below.

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‘Miss This? Get This!’: Calgary business groups launch pro-vaccine ad campaign

Tourism Calgary and the Calgary Chamber of Commerce have joined forces with a pro-vaccination ad campaign.

The “Miss This? Get This!” campaign links vaccine uptake to the reopening of the economy and the return of bustling restaurants, live music, fully-booked hotels, and more. The ads are meant to encourage small business owners and employees and those working in the tourism sector to get their vaccines quickly to speed up the recovery of their industries.

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Events of 200 and restaurants and bars at full capacity as Yukon lifts COVID rules

Life is nearing normal in Yukon with restaurants and bars allowed to open to full capacity and people being allowed to plan for events with up to 200 guests.

Many COVID-19 restrictions in the territory were lifted Tuesday as vaccination rates for the first shot surpassed 75 per cent of eligible residents, and almost as many have had their second dose of a vaccine.

Dr. Brendan Hanley, the chief medical officer of health, has credited Yukon with making “great progress” in its vaccination effort, which allows for the easing of some public health measures.

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CEMA chief urges Calgarians to remain vigilant

Sue Henry, chief of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, provided a COVID-19 update to council’s emergency management committee this morning. Journalist Stephanie Babych reported on the meeting:

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Manitoba doctors call for strict measures to deal with COVID-19 ‘catastrophe’

Manitoba doctors are calling on the province to deploy immediate and strict public health orders to help health-care providers manage the “absolute disaster” that has emerged in hospitals and clinics due to the third wave of COVID-19.

The problem isn’t just COVID-19, a group of doctors said in a press conference on Monday. Treating and managing patients with severe COVID-19 infection has created dysfunction in much of Manitoba’s health-care system.

Essential diagnostic services, surgeries and other life-saving procedures are being delayed. People are dying from treatable conditions. Also, an “epidemic” of post-traumatic stress disorder is likely to emerge because of the pandemic, the doctors explained.

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Alberta has had the most miserable time fighting COVID-19, new index suggests

The so-called Misery Index, created by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, assesses pandemic responses across a broad range of metrics, including deaths per 100,000 people, excess mortality, vaccination rates, lockdown stringency, GDP losses and the assumption of public debts, among other things.

Alberta posted the highest degree of misery, according to MLI data, due to high COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people, high excess mortality, and a sharp drop in GDP in 2020. Quebec had the worst response in the specific area of disease control, with a higher death toll per 100,000 than any other province. The four Atlantic provinces, meanwhile, had the lowest overall misery levels, with each outperforming the national average.

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The new data supports the argument that strict lockdowns early in a pandemic outbreak are the single-best way to minimize damage to public health and the economy, according to experts at the think-tank.

“Lockdowns have heaped misery on the larger, more populous provinces, while Atlantic Canada’s bubble demonstrated the importance of keeping the virus out in the first place,” said MLI senior fellow Richard Audas, who designed the index.

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Alberta firm works with controversial U.S. company to make ‘better’ COVID vaccine, but says Ottawa not interested

It’s working with a company facing intense scrutiny from American politicians and regulators, but a Canadian pharmaceutical start-up says the COVID-19 vaccine the firms are making together might be better than anything on the market.

The real problem for Providence Therapeutics, says CEO Brad Sorenson, is lack of interest from Ottawa.

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Quebec to move up appointments for second COVID-19 vaccine doses

Quebecers will soon be able to change their appointments online for their second COVID-19 dose to an earlier date as the province’s vaccination rollout has exceeded the government’s own expectations, Postmedia has learned.

Quebec is poised to vaccinate at least 80 per cent of the adult population with one dose by June 24, which would mean going beyond the initial goal by more than five per cent. And with nearly 48,000 Pfizer-BioNTech doses expected early this week, the provincial government has decided to modify the Clic Santé online portal to permit Quebecers to move up appointments for a second dose, a high-ranking source confirmed.

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B.C. to begin methodical lifting of COVID restrictions

A plan to be announced today will start to get life and the economy back to normal in British Columbia with the methodical lifting of COVID-19 health restrictions.

Premier John Horgan said last week the restart will set the course for a future direction as COVID-19 cases decline and more people receive vaccinations, but it will take time to reach the final destination.

Horgan said the plans involve the gradual lifting of health restrictions and by July the province will be in a much better place.

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Alberta reports 452 new cases on Monday, seven deaths

While daily cases, active cases and hospitalizations continue to drop, the number of COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care remains high.

Alberta reported 452 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, which came from 5,085 completed tests — a test positivity rate of about 8.9 per cent. The number of active cases dropped to 13,608 over the long weekend.

Though hospitalizations continued to decline over the weekend, intensive-care unit admissions have remained high. By Monday, there were 569 COVID-19 patients in hospital, including 161 requiring treatment in ICUs.

Seven additional deaths were reported on Monday, including a woman in her 20s and a man in his 50s from the Calgary zone.

Alberta had administered 2,532,143 doses of COVID-19 vaccine by the end-of-day Sunday. This includes 353,292 second doses for those who are fully immunized.

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Schools resume in-person learning as Albertans await decisions on other COVID-19 restrictions

As students across most of the province return to school for in-person learning this week, Albertans will be looking for decisions from the government on current restrictions and a fresh reopening strategy.

When Premier Jason Kenney announced sweeping measures on May 4 that closed schools, patio dining, places of worship and personal services, a timeline of at least three weeks was given for these restrictions. However, no clear plan for when the province will ease public health measures has been outlined.

Asked about when an announcement on restrictions could be expected, Steve Buick, press secretary to Alberta’s Minister of Health, told Postmedia Monday that the government will have more to say “in the coming days.”

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Monday

Hardy Albertans brave May long weekend weather and head out of town

Cool, soggy conditions didn’t keep Albertans from flocking outdoors over the Victoria Day long weekend with campgrounds outside Calgary reporting full bookings and B.C. border towns seeing more traffic.

Monday

‘Sad and disappointed’: COVID-19 vaccination clinics at Alberta-US border cancelled

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A feel-good story in which a Montana First Nation was holding COVID-19 vaccination clinics at the Canada-United States border in southwestern Alberta has come to an end.

The Blackfeet Tribe, 150 kilometres south of Lethbridge, began offering shots of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna at the Carway border crossing a month ago. Initially it was being offered to members of the Blackfoot Confederacy, but it was later opened up to anyone who wanted it.

The proposal received approval from the tribal administration and both the Canadian and United States governments to set up the mobile clinic on the U.S. side of the border.

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Monday

Vaccine deliveries poised to slow this week with Canada expecting 600K Pfizer doses

Canada is set for a relatively quiet few days on the COVID-19 vaccine front with only about 600,000 Pfizer-BioNTech doses set to arrive this week.

The two pharmaceutical firms were originally scheduled to deliver two million shots in the next seven days, but shipped 1.4 million of those doses last week instead in anticipation of the May long weekend.

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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 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.