COVID-19 Update: Alberta urges Ottawa to drop mandatory hotel quarantines | 127 new cases, two deaths | Stampede seeks financial relief – Calgary Herald

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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.

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Alberta urges Ottawa to drop mandatory quarantines, reinstate border COVID-19 testing

In a push to jumpstart the summer tourism season, Alberta is urging Ottawa to drop its mandatory hotel quarantines for international travellers while returning to COVID-19 testing at ports of entry.

In a letter leaked to Postmedia, Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro said the federal government should follow a recommendation by an expert advisory panel calling for the elimination of the three-day hotel isolation order.

He’s also calling for a suspended COVID-19 testing pilot program to resume July 1, at the start of Alberta’s main tourism stretch and about a week ahead of the Calgary Stampede.

“Upon review of the report, we note that the Expert Panel has recommended discontinuing requirements to quarantine in the three day government-authorized accommodation (GAA),” Shandro said in the May 31 letter to federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu.

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‘Diminishing demand’ for first dose appointments as Kenney encourages people to get COVID-19 vaccine

Although the province is set to transition to Stage 2 of the reopening plan later this week, Alberta’s premier said “diminishing demand” for first doses of the COVID-19 vaccines could delay the move to fully reopen by the end of the month.

Another 126,536 first doses of vaccine need to be administered for Alberta to reach the 70 per cent immunization threshold established to trigger the third and final stage of the government’s reopening strategy. However, there are fewer than 100,000 first-dose appointments are booked over the next week, Premier Jason Kenney explained Monday.

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“We’re getting to that critical point right now where every single person who decides to get the first dose is going to be able to accelerate the full openness of Alberta,” Kenney said during an unrelated press conference.

“So, if you’ve been holding back for one reason or another, now is the time, over the next week, to get the jab so that we can move forward more quickly with the full ‘Open for Summer’ plan.”

Alberta reported 127 new cases of COVID-19 Monday, which is the lowest daily total recorded since early October before the second wave.

The new cases came from 4,027 completed tests for a test positivity rate of about 3.2 per cent. The number of active cases dropped again on Monday to 4,707 from 4,884 the day before.

There are 351 COVID patients in hospital, including 94 in intensive-care units.

Two additional deaths were reported, bringing Alberta’s death toll to 2,248.

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Beleaguered Calgary Stampede seeking new financial relief from city

Still smarting from the hard ride of last year’s COVID-cancelled exhibition, the Calgary Stampede is hoping the city helps it get back in its financial saddle.

Suffering from a $26.5-million loss on its operations from last year’s abortive event and beset with fiscal concerns about a truncated 2021 Stampede, the annual cowboy bash is asking the city to waive, rein or amend agreements on its debt servicing and credit requirements.

City chief financial officer Carla Male has endorsed the report recommending lawmakers toss a lifeline to a Stampede that last year said its viability was in doubt due to the ravages of the pandemic.

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Kenney apologizes for patio dinner that violated health orders

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has apologized for hosting an outdoor dinner with ministers last week that violated the province’s COVID-19 public health orders.

After initially insisting that the dinner, on a patio that is part of government offices known as the Sky Palace, was “fully rule compliant,” Kenney acknowledged on Monday that guests were not always the required two meters apart.

Kenney told reporters he believed at the time that having the dinner outside was “prudent” and complied with the rules.

“I was of the clear view that we were complying with the open for summer rules but it is clear that some of us were not distanced the whole night and I have to take responsibility for that,” he said.

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Global coalition calls on Canada to donate 15 million COVID-19 vaccines by September

Wealthy countries like Canada can’t wait until their entire populations are vaccinated before they begin sharing COVID-19 doses with poorer countries, global health officials said Monday.

Canada has recently increased its financial commitment but has not shared COVID-19 vaccines with COVAX, the global vaccine sharing alliance, as other G7 countries have. Canada remains the only G7 country to receive vaccines from the alliance.

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GraceLife Church pastor loses constitutional challenge of COVID enforcement measures

A judge has thrown out an application from GraceLife Church pastor James Coates seeking to have COVID enforcement actions at the Parkland County church deemed unconstitutional.

On Monday, provincial court Judge Robert Shaigec dismissed a Charter application from Coates, whose church was shuttered by authorities in April for repeatedly holding services in violation of COVID-19 public health orders.

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Ontario will start economic reopening on Friday ahead of schedule

Ontario will start its economic reopening a few days ahead of schedule on Friday, loosening restrictions on outdoor activities and businesses.

The province announced the move on Monday, saying health indicators have improved enough to begin lifting some pandemic restrictions.

Limited outdoor dining, outdoor fitness classes, outdoor religious services and camping can resume under the first step of the plan.

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Canada to receive 2.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine this week

Canada is scheduled to receive 2.4 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine this week as more Canadians get their first and second jabs.

Those shots are the only expected shipments in what should be a comparatively quiet week of vaccine deliveries.

Moderna shipped 500,000 doses last week, with another 1.5 million shots due to arrive next week.

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Alberta looks to enter Stage 2 of reopening this week as hospitalizations continue declining

Restrictions are expected to be eased further this week in Alberta, as the number of COVID-19 patients requiring critical care dips below 100 for the first time since mid-April.

The province is scheduled to enter Stage 2 of the government’s reopening strategy on Thursday, so long as hospitalizations remain below 500 and declining. The step would see fewer restrictions for most industries, outdoor gatherings, outdoor sports, public gatherings and weddings.

For the first time since April 16, Alberta hospitals have fewer than 100 COVID-19 patients in intensive-care units. As of Sunday, there are 360 in hospital, including 96 in ICUs.

This was down from the 373 Albertans in hospital, including 105 in ICUs, reported on Saturday.

The number of active cases also dropped below 5,000 on Sunday for the first time since March 16. There are now 4,884 active cases provincewide, including 1,997 in the Calgary zone.

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The 231 new cases reported Sunday came from 5,337 completed tests, for a test positivity rate of about 4.3 per cent.

Alberta has now administered 3,057,662 doses of vaccine. Of these doses, 529,502 are second shots. This means 66.4 per cent of Alberta’s population age 12 and over has received at least one dose, and 13.9 per cent are fully immunized with two.

No new deaths from COVID-19 were reported Sunday, so the province’s death toll remains at 2,246.

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Sunday

Hundreds of former leaders urge G7 to vaccinate poor against COVID-19

LONDON — One hundred former presidents, prime ministers and foreign ministers have urged the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations to pay for global coronavirus vaccinations to help stop the virus mutating and returning as a worldwide threat.

The leaders made their appeal ahead of a G7 summit in England which begins on Friday, when U.S. President Joe Biden will meet the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan.

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Sunday

Violent crime dropped in 2020, but shootings spiked: Calgary police

Rates of violent and property crime dropped in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an annual report from the Calgary Police Service.

But the significant disruption to public life also saw a spike in gun and gang violence, as well as an increase in calls for disorderly public behaviour.

Calgary police received nearly 385,000 calls for service in 2020, an eight per cent decrease from 2019; officers responded to 74 per cent of all calls. Online reporting of crimes also increased by 30 per cent during the year, as police encouraged web reporting to cut down on contact during the pandemic.

After hitting a 10-year high in 2019, violent crime rates dipped in 2020, something police attribute in part to public health measures presenting fewer opportunities for crime. The peak period for violence during the year came in the summer months, when many restrictions were lifted.

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Sunday

Weekend brings lower COVID-19 counts across much of Canada

OTTAWA — Signs of summer’s pending arrival were greeted with other reasons for hope across much of Canada over the weekend as several provinces reported their lowest number of new COVID-19 infections in months and tens of thousands more Canadians were vaccinated.

The good news started with Quebec. Once the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the province on Sunday reported only 179 new infections and no new deaths, a first for both measurements since September.

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Ontario, meanwhile, logged 663 new cases on Sunday, the lowest figure seen since Oct. 18. Atlantic Canada was also reporting relatively low numbers, with 12 new cases in Nova Scotia today and fewer than 10 in the rest of the region.

Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam in a statement called on Canadians to continue to guard against COVID-19 while also acknowledging the decline in new cases following a deadly third wave of infections through much of the spring.

“As immunity is still building up across the population, public health measures and individual precautions are crucial for COVID-19 control,” she said. “Thanks to measures in place in heavily affected areas, the strong and steady declines in disease trends continues.”

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Saturday

‘Our leadership should sincerely apologize’: Two cabinet ministers criticize Kenney for Sky Palace dinner

Two United Conservative Party cabinet ministers have called out Premier Jason Kenney after he violated provincial COVID-19 rules during a patio dinner.

In a Facebook post Saturday afternoon, Chestermere-Strathmore MLA Leela Aheer called for an apology from the premier after photos obtained by the media showed Kenney and three other cabinet ministers dining on a patio linked to a government office space in Edmonton known as the Sky Palace. Some attendees were seated closer than the required two metres of distance and none were wearing masks.

“I am confused and, like you, extremely hurt, and I’m so sorry for any pain, anger, or frustration this may have caused you,” wrote Aheer, the minister of culture, multiculturalism and status of women. She is also the deputy leader of the governing United Conservative Party.

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