Province introduces vaccine passport program, other public health measures

The premier said it’s a “proof of vaccination program for participation in certain discretionary activities that have a higher risk of viral transmission.”

“With unvaccinated patients overwhelming our hospitals, this is now the only responsible choice that we have,” Kenney said.

Businesses will not be forced to adopt the vaccine passport program, and businesses that implement the Restrictions Exemption Program would be allowed to operate as usual.

In his initial statement, the premier acknowledged the province moved to an endemic situation and lifted restrictions too quickly earlier this summer.

“I was wrong and I apologize,” he said.

However, Kenney later said he does not apologize for lifting all public health restrictions in July, citing declining COVID numbers and rising vaccination rates.

“At least in this society, you can’t sustain serious intrusions into people’s lives permanently. So no, I don’t apologize for the decision to relax public health restrictions in the summer, supported by the data,” he said.

He added had restrictions been left in place through the summer, he believes that would have resulted in massive non-compliance and more anger.

He said he tried to convey a sense of hope and optimism throughout the summer with his words and decisions.

Asked why Alberta has acted to implement health restrictions late in this wave – similar to the second and third waves – Kenney said the province only received advice on Monday to implement restrictions.

The news release detailing the provincial restrictions can be read at the bottom of this article but here are some of the measures.

Restrictions that come into effect as of midnight Sept. 16 include:

Private indoor gatherings for vaccinated people over 12 limited to two households and 10 people total
Unvaccinated Albertans over 12 are not permitted to attend private indoor social gatherings
Places of worship restricted to one-third capacity and masking is required
Mandatory masking for all students Grade 4 and up, plus staff and teachers and a return to class cohorting for elementary schools.
Mandatory work from home order unless physical presence is required

Restrictions to come in place on Sept. 20 include:

Outdoor dining only with a maximum of six individuals per table (one household or two close contacts for those living alone).
All indoor weddings or funerals and services are limited to 50 attendees or 50 per cent fire code capacity, whichever is less; no indoor receptions are permitted.
-All outdoor ceremonies and services for weddings and funerals must be limited to 200 attendees. Outdoor receptions are required to follow liquor sales and consumption restrictions (i.e., sales end at 10 p.m. and consumption ends by 11 p.m.).
At all retail, entertainment and recreation facilities attendance is limited to one-third fire code capacity and attendees are only permitted to attend with their household or two close contacts for those living alone. Attendees must be masked and have two-metre physical distancing between households.
No indoor group classes or activities are permitted for adult sport, fitness, performance, and recreation.

A Restrictions Exemption Program for businesses listed above will start Sept. 20:

Vaccine-eligible individuals will be required to provide government-issued proof of immunization or a negative privately paid COVID-19 test from within the previous 72 hours to access a variety of participating social, recreational and discretionary events and businesses throughout the province.
To enter certain spaces that are participating in the program, including restaurants, bars and indoor organized events, people aged 12 and older will be required to show their proof of vaccination or a negative recent test result.
Businesses that implement the Restrictions Exemption Program would operate as usual, provided they are serving only people who have proof of immunization or who have a recent privately paid negative test, as per the requirements in place.

Health Minster Tyler Shandro said improvements are being made to the MyHealth Records program. The site has crashed frequently as people tried to access it to get their proof of vaccination. As well, the proof of vaccination card won’t be available until Sunday morning. It was to be available Thursday.

AHS president and CEO Dr. Verna Yiu says staff are being trained on triage protocol.

She also said the province is reaching out to others to secure ICU space for Alberta patients and health-care staff for spaces in the province.

There are now 877 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 218 of which are in ICU, and 2,495 deaths. Twenty-four of those deaths were reported today.

The province recorded 1,609 new cases in the province in the past 24 hours.

The full news release from the province

The following measures will take effect on Sept. 16:

Workplaces:

Mandatory work-from-home measures are in place unless the employer has determined a physical presence is required for operational effectiveness.

Private social gatherings:

Indoor private gatherings for vaccine-eligible, fully vaccinated individuals are limited to a single household plus one other household to a maximum of 10 people, with no restrictions on children under the age of 12.

Attendance at any indoor private social gathering is not permitted for vaccine-eligible individuals who are unvaccinated.

Outdoor private social gatherings are permitted to a maximum of 200 people, with two-metre physical distancing maintained at all times.

Places of worship:

Places of worship must limit attendance to one-third fire code capacity.

Face masks will be mandatory and there must be two-metre physical distancing between households or two close contacts for those living alone.

Outdoor events and facilities with no indoor portion (excluding washrooms):

No attendance restrictions, however two-metre physical distancing must be in place.

Schools (K-12):

Mandatory masking for students in grades 4 and up, plus staff and teachers in all grades. Schools that can implement an alternate COVID safety plan can be exempted from mandatory masking.

Elementary schools are to implement class cohorting.

For physical activities in schools:

Youth aged 18 and under are not required to mask or maintain two-metre distance when engaged in physical activity.

There are no restrictions on outdoor activities.

Indoor sports/performance/recreation/special interests are permitted with requirements for two-metre physical distancing, where possible.

Children’s sport/performance/recreation (extracurricular sports, performance, recreation and special interest):

Indoor activities are permitted, with requirements for two-metre physical distancing and masking where possible, and symptom screening for participants.

Youth aged 18 and under are not required to mask or maintain physical distancing during a physical activity, such as a team sport.

Spectator attendance is limited to one-third fire code capacity. Attendees must be masked and ensure physical distancing between different households or an individual who lives alone and their two close contacts.

There are no restrictions on outdoor activities.

Children’s activities:

Children’s day camps must have two-metre physical distancing between participants and masking indoors.

Children’s overnight camps must follow cohort models.

The following measures will take effect on Sept. 20:

Restaurants:

Outdoor dining only with a maximum of six individuals per table (one household or two close contacts for those living alone).

Liquor sales and consumption restrictions (10 p.m. sales and 11 p.m. consumption) apply.

Restaurants are eligible to implement the Restrictions Exemption Program.

Weddings and funerals:

All indoor ceremonies and services are limited to 50 attendees or 50 per cent fire code capacity, whichever is less.

No indoor receptions are permitted.

The hosting facility would be eligible to implement the Restrictions Exemption Program.

All outdoor ceremonies and services for weddings and funerals must be limited to 200 attendees. Outdoor receptions are required to follow liquor sales and consumption restrictions (i.e., sales end at 10 p.m. and consumption ends by 11 p.m.).

The hosting facility would be eligible to implement the Restrictions Exemption Program.

Retail, entertainment and recreation facilities (includes any indoor venues, libraries, conferences, rental spaces, concerts, nightclubs, casinos and similar):

Attendance is limited to one-third fire code capacity and attendees are only permitted to attend with their household or two close contacts for those living alone. Attendees must be masked and have two-metre physical distancing between households.

These facilities are eligible to implement the Restrictions Exemption Program.

Adult (over 18 years old) sport, fitness, performance, and recreation:

Indoor activities:

No indoor group classes or activities are permitted.

One-on-one training or individual workouts are permitted but three-metre physical distancing is required.

No contact between players; indoor competitions are paused except where vaccine exemptions have been granted.

These facilities and programs are eligible to implement the Restrictions Exemption Program. Specific exemptions may also be granted on a case-by-case basis.

There are no restrictions on outdoor activities.

Restrictions Exemption Program

Starting Sept. 20, vaccine-eligible individuals will be required to provide government-issued proof of immunization or a negative privately paid COVID-19 test from within the previous 72 hours to access a variety of participating social, recreational and discretionary events and businesses throughout the province.
To enter certain spaces that are participating in the program, including restaurants, bars and indoor organized events, people aged 12 and older will be required to show their proof of vaccination or a negative recent test result.
Businesses that implement the Restrictions Exemption Program would operate as usual, provided they are serving only people who have proof of immunization or who have a recent privately paid negative test, as per the requirements in place. This means they could immediately and without restriction serve any individual eligible for vaccination who:
Has proof of double vaccination (note that for a transitional period between Sept. 20 and Oct. 25, proof of a single dose would be considered acceptable as long as the dose was given two weeks or more before the time of service).
Has documentation of a medical exemption.
Has proof of a recent (within the previous 72 hours) negative COVID-19 test (either PCR or Rapid Test). The test may not be from Alberta Health Services or Alberta Precision Laboratories.
Those under age 12 would not need to provide proof of immunization or a negative test to enter a participating business.
This program would not apply to businesses or entities that need to be accessed for daily living.
Albertans can access copies of their COVID-19 vaccination records through MyHealth Records. For the time being, Albertans should avoid logging into MyHealth Records to download their records. The printable card, which was going to be made available on Sept. 16, will now be available on Sept. 19.

by Chris Brown

Province introduces vaccine passport program, other public health measures

The full news release from the province

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