COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta
In late July 2021, amid evidence of a fourth wave in Alberta, the province faced criticism for plans to treat COVID-19 as an endemic illness by scaling back testing, contact tracing, and self-isolation requirements.
[7] Due to the fourth wave, the province began to reintroduce restrictions on September 4, including mandatory masks inside public indoor spaces.
[10] The next day, he announced a series of provincial financial measures, including deferral of utility payments, ceasing of collection of corporate income taxes, a "six-month moratorium on student loans", and an emergency isolation support package.
Hinshaw stated that although cases were trending downward, COVID-19 "spreads rapidly through social interactions", and it would be "with us for many months to come", and that they did not want to risk any further super-spreader events.
[18] Restrictions began to re-emerge in November 2020; on November 12, it was announced that for 14 days, bars would be required to end liquor sales by 10 p.m. and close by 11 p.m. within regions that were given an "enhanced status" classification by the AHS, and that all group fitness, group performance, and indoor team sports activity would be prohibited in the regions of Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, and Red Deer.
Remote work was required by all employees unless their physical presence was considered necessary for their respective jobs, and all retail businesses and religious gatherings were limited to 15% of the venue's licensed capacity.
[25] On January 18, the province began to allow outdoor public gatherings of up to 20 people, and personal care services to reopen for one-on-one appointments.
[26] On January 21, the remaining restrictions were extended for an indefinite period, with Hinshaw stating that Alberta needed to "give it a bit more time" and focus on "how we all collectively work together to keep those numbers coming down.
Among these benchmark metrics were upper limits on hospitalized COVID cases, and a minimum wait period of three weeks between each step, in order to assess impact and ensure that the healthcare system would not be overwhelmed.
[28][29] On March 1, Premier Kenney announced that Alberta would begin to phase in "Step 2", allowing for low-intensity group fitness classes to resume.
[30] The remainder of Phase 2 was implemented March 8, which included the ability for libraries to reopen (limited to 15% capacity), retail to operate at 25% capacity, banquet and conference halls to open for allowed activities, and collegiate sports programs allowed to conduct practices with 10 participants per group, with three metres of social distancing between them and masks mandatory (games are prohibited).
[41] By October, the Open for Summer plan was described as a "failure" and a "cautionary tale" for other Canadian provinces as the number of delta cases climbed.
As the number of cases and hospitalizations steadily climbed throughout the summer, Hinshaw and Kenny failed to reimpose public health measures.
[43] Kenney's poorly thought out policy decisions, his slow response to increasing cases and hospitalizations, combined with Albertans comparatively low vaccination rates became a "recipe for disaster".
[44] On May 26, Premier Kenney announced the replacement of "The Path Forward" with the "Open for Summer Plan", a new framework that would be based on vaccination progress and hospitalization metrics.
[40][45][46] On June 18, 2021, at a media event in Edmonton, Premier Kenney announced per the Plan that Step 3 would be implemented on July 1, as the province had met the 70% threshold of first doses.
[62] In early January 2022, with the Omicron-driven fifth wave rising and healthcare capacity already "spread too thin" federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos, suggested mandatory vaccination as an option that provinces and territories might consider.
[64] On January 13, Kenney announced that the thousand of rapid tests that the Education Minister Adriana LaGrange has promised to schools along with medical-grade masks, were delayed.
She established a stance against any future COVID-19 measures, and argued that "unvaccinated" people should be protected under the province's Human Rights Act.
In response, Smith stated that she did not mean to "create any false equivalencies to the terrible historical discrimination and persecution suffered by so many minority groups over the last decades and centuries", but refused to specifically apologize.
[75][73] On May 29, 2020, the Alberta government announced partnerships with fast food chains A&W, McDonald's, and Tim Hortons to distribute complimentary non-medical face masks to drive-thru customers.
Alberta NDP critic for democracy and ethics Heather Sweet displayed concern for the limitation and privacy implications tied to it, arguing that "when you're keeping your device open at all times when you're using it, the question becomes, how is that data being stored if you're collected it from somebody else and how is it being used?
"[87] On July 31, 2020, the Canadian federal government launched COVID Alert, which is based on Apple Inc. and Google's Exposure Notification system.
[93] Mayor of Calgary Naheed Nenshi called upon the provincial government to adopt the app, citing the limitations of ABTraceTogether, and warning against the "politicization of public health"—in reference to members of the majority United Conservative Party having recently heckled COVID Alert as "Trudeau's app" during Question Period.
"[104] Hinshaw said, "Our new approach reflects the fact that the most important thing anyone can do if they have mild symptoms isn't to get tested – it's to stay home and self-isolate.
[107][108] On March 14, the chief economist of Alberta Central, a banking facility for the province's credit unions, said that because of the pandemic and the low oil price, they expect that the provincial economy will contract by 1.5% in 2020, with 25,000 jobs lost.
[1] Community transmission refers to cases where Alberta Health Service (AHS) investigators "could not identify an obvious source of the virus.
[134][135] By March 31, Alberta Health was also tracking outbreaks in Calgary's Carewest Glenmore Park Centre and Shepherd's Care Kensington in the Edmonton Zone.
[141] The town of High River had 164 cases and one death as of April 17, 2020, with some of the patients being employees of the Cargill meat packing plant.
United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union Local 401 lobbied unsuccessfully for the plant's closure since the point at which health authorities were aware of 38 cases linked to the facility.
