COVID19 spreading events – Premier Kenney asks Calgary and Edmonton residents to stop hosting gatherings

From the Province of Alberta

Strong public health measures are being implemented to protect the health system and limit the spread of COVID-19.

Expanded mandatory and voluntary limits on social gatherings are now in place to help reduce growing caseloads.

New COVID-19 measures

Effective immediately, new mandatory and voluntary public health measures will help protect the health system and limit the spread of COVID-19.
- All Edmonton and Calgary residents should stop holding social gatherings within their homes and instead socialize in structured settings where it is easier to limit risk of exposure.
- The mandatory 15-person limit on social gatherings is being expanded to all communities on the watch list.
- Voluntary measures to limit cohorts to no more than three and to wear masks in the workplace unless able to safely distance are also strongly recommended for any community on the watch list, regardless of location.
Additional measures to bolster Alberta’s public health response:
- AHS is prioritizing the hiring of about 380 additional contact tracing staff that will expand the contact tracing team to more than 1,100 people.
- To support contact tracing, all Albertans should download ABTraceTogether, Alberta’s contact tracing app.
Alberta will also be shifting back to daily reporting of case numbers and information, including on weekends and holidays.

Latest updates

To date, 24,684 Albertans have recovered from COVID-19.
There are currently 6,822 active cases in the province.
Over the last 48 hours:
- 802 new cases were identified on Nov. 4
- 609 new cases were identified on Nov. 5
Alberta labs have now performed 1,869,192 tests on 1,305,540 people.
There were nine additional deaths since Nov. 3, bringing the total number of COVID-19 deaths to 352.
All zones across the province have cases:
- Calgary Zone: 2,886 active cases and 10,966 recovered
- South Zone: 398 active cases and 2,216 recovered
- Edmonton Zone: 2,819 active cases and 8,713 recovered
- North Zone: 431 active cases and 1,821 recovered
- Central Zone: 255 active cases and 914 recovered
- 33 active cases and 54 recovered cases in zones to be confirmed
- Additional information, including case totals, is online.
There are 392 active cases and 1,631 recovered cases at continuing care facilities; 221 facility residents have died.
School case information will be updated on Monday.

Updated contact tracing approach

Alberta is piloting a targeted contact testing approach. This will make contact tracing faster and focus on populations at greatest risk of illness and further spreading COVID-19.
Alberta Health Services will directly notify close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases in three priority groups only:
- health-care workers
- minors (parents will still be notified if their child has been exposed in a school setting)
- individuals who live or work within congregate or communal facilities
AHS will no longer directly notify close contacts outside of these three priority groups, at this time.
Albertans outside the priority groups who test positive will be asked to notify their own close contacts.
AHS will continue to directly notify all positive cases of COVID-19 of their result, identify priority contacts that AHS will notify, and provide the case with guidance on notifying their own contacts.

Related Topics:#AlbertaCOVID19 Covid19 feature

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Official statement from Premier Danielle Smith and Energy Minister Brian Jean on the start-up of the Trans Mountain Pipeline

Published on May 1, 2024

Government of Alberta

Alberta is celebrating an important achievement for the energy industry – the start-up of the twinned Trans Mountain pipeline. It’s great news Albertans and Canadians as this will welcome a new era of prosperity and economic growth. The completion of TMX is monumental for Alberta, since this will significantly increase our province’s output. It will triple the capacity of the original pipeline to now carry 890,000 barrels per day of crude oil from Alberta’s oil sands to British Columbia’s Pacific Coast.

We are excited that Canada’s biggest and newest oil pipeline in more than a decade, can now bring oil from Edmonton to tide water in B.C. This will allow us to get our energy resources to Pacific markets, including Washington State and California, and Asian markets like Japan, South Korea, China, and India. Alberta now has new energy customers and tankers with Alberta oil will be unloading in China and India in the next few months.

For Alberta this is a game-changer, the world needs more reliably and sustainably sourced Alberta energy, not less. World demand for oil and gas resources will continue in the decades ahead and the new pipeline expansion will give us the opportunity to meet global energy demands and increase North American and global energy security and help remove the issues of energy poverty in other parts of the world.

Analysts are predicting the price differential on Canadian crude oil will narrow resulting in many millions of extra government revenues, which will help fund important programs like health, education, and social services – the things Albertans rely on. TMX will also result in billions of dollars of economic prosperity for Albertans, Indigenous communities and Canadians and create well-paying jobs throughout Canada.

Our province wants to congratulate the Trans Mountain Corporation for its tenacity to have completed this long awaited and much needed energy infrastructure, and to thank the more than 30,000 dedicated, skilled workers whose efforts made this extraordinary project a reality. The province also wants to thank the Federal Government for seeing this project through. This is a great example of an area where the provincial and federal government can cooperate and work together for the benefit of Albertans and all Canadians.

Alberta

Protecting the right to vote for Canadian citizens: Minister McIver

Published on May 1, 2024

Government of Alberta

Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver issued the following statement in response to Calgary City Council’s vote to extend the right to vote to permanent residents:

“Yesterday, Calgary city council passed a motion advocating for permanent residents to be extended the right to vote in civic elections. Alberta’s government has been clear since the beginning: only Canadian citizens are able to vote in civic elections. That will not be changing.

“The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms affirms the right of every Canadian citizen to vote and to run as a candidate. This right extends to voters in municipal, provincial and federal elections.

“Protecting our democracy is of the utmost importance. Our provincial election legislation, like the Local Authorities Elections Act, has also been clear since its inception that voting is a right of Canadian citizens.

“Alberta’s government is also ensuring that voting is accessible for more Albertans. The Municipal Affairs Statutes Amendment Act proposes to enable special ballot access for any voter who requests it, without having to provide any specific reason such as physical disability, absence from the municipality or working for the municipal election. The ministries of Seniors, Community and Social Services and Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction are also making it easier for individuals to obtain the identification Albertans need for a variety of services, including the ability to cast a ballot.

“Our government will continue to protect the integrity of our elections and make sure voting is accessible for all Albertans who are Canadian citizens.”