By Chris Brown

Second vaccine shipment in Alberta

Province loosens rules to help single Albertans over holidays

Dec 22, 2020 | 3:00 PM

Premier Jason Kenney delivered an early Christmas present to Albertans.

“We’ve made some changes to the public health restrictions that will allow single Albertans to enjoy the holidays with loved ones in a safe way,” said the premier.

From Dec. 23 to Dec. 28, single Albertans may attend one event at another household, Kenney announced. During that same time, households can host up to two single people for an event.

He said the change was adopted based on advice from the minister of health, based on input from the chief medical officer of health by the COVID cabinet committee.

Kenney says the change “will make a world of difference for single Albertans who otherwise would not be able to visit their families over Christmas.”

WHAT'S ON

Here is what's on this weekend in Medicine Hat and area: Dec. 13-15

22h ago

IN THE COMMUNITY

Medicine Hat's Mustard Seed adding new shelter spaces at Alberta government's request

Dec 12, 2024

HOLIDAYS

Medicine Hat Kiwanis hosting Christmas dinner, applications due Friday

Dec 12, 2024

He said large social gatherings are still prohibited, explaining the huge spike seen in recent weeks resulted from such gatherings at Thanksgiving.

Kenney said there’s “absolutely no doubt” that progress would be lost and there would be a return to exponential growth and increasing pressure on the health-care system if large family gatherings were to take place this holiday season.

“We can cope with the current pressure, thanks to the dedication and remarkable of our frontline health-care workers. We can manage with 800 cases in hospital,” he said. “We can not manage with 2,500 COVID cases in hospital without beginning to deny some people care and without cancelling all non-urgent surgeries and non-COVID-related and non-urgent health care.”

To those who say the measures are based on exaggerated effects of PCR testing and other claims, Kenney said no.

“Alberta’s response is designed to prevent an overwhelming of the health-care system, which would force widespread cancellations of surgeries, which would itself have massive effects on people’s health unrelated to COVID,” Kenney said.

He added that’s not a theory or model, but a “simple, hard, numerical reality.”

Tremendous progress has been made fighting COVID-19 in the last couple of weeks, said Kenney and asked people to continue to observe the rules.

There are 70 active cases of COVID-19 in Medicine Hat.

The city now has had 419 total cases – the 70 active, 343 recovered and there have been six deaths.

There are two new cases in the city in Tuesday’s update and 10 recoveries.

Across the province, there are 18,311 active cases, down 854 from Monday, and 73,298 recovered cases, up 1,864.

Alberta’s total number of COVID-19 cases from the start of the pandemic is 92,480.

There are 1,021 new cases in the province today.

There are now 802 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 152 of which are in ICU, and 871 deaths.

The province completed 14,199 tests in the past 24 hours.

The provincial positivity rate is 7.2 per cent.

Alberta’s second shipment of the Pfizer vaccine, more than 25,000 doses has arrived and will be delivered across the province.

Medicine Hat and Brooks are each in line for 975 doses.

Calgary and Edmonton will each get 6,825 doses, while Red Deer will get 1,950. The rest will go to vaccine sites in Camrose, Drumheller, Edson, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Pincher Creek and St. Paul. Each will get the same 975 doses as Medicine Hat and Brooks.

Kenney said the arrival of the vaccines provides hope and the vaccination program in Alberta is off to a strong start.

Health Minister Tyler Shandro said more than 3,000 frontline workers have received the vaccine already.

Shandro also announced an exemption to allow massage therapy services for patients or clients with either a prescription from a physician or a referral from another regulated health professional.

Amendments have also been made for private counselling services and visits at home at the end-of-life for a family member, friend, faith leader or another person.

There are 1,021 new cases in the province today, a number that down significantly since it was continually around 1,900 earlier in the month. There are a total of 18,311 active cases in the province.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw said AHS continues to increase the number of contact tracers and is on track to be close to 1,600 at the end of the year, up from about 1,200 now.

The chief medical officer of health said the contact tracing team will continue to work over the holidays.

She also reminded people to look after our own and each other’s mental health and that mental health, addictions and other helplines are available.

She also said there is no evidence currently the COVID-19 variant recently found in the U.K. is here in Alberta or Canada, but it’s possible it could arrive.

“I want to emphasize though that our current public health measures will protect against the is variant,” she said.

Medicine Hat remains on the provincial “Watch” list and is in enhanced status. In enhanced status, risk levels require enhanced public health measures to control the spread and are informed by local context.

Regions are placed on the province’s “Watch” list when they have a rate of more than 50 active cases per 100,000 population. Medicine Hat’s 70 active cases among 68,057 people puts it at a rate of 102.9.

Cypress County with a rate of 98.1 on 11 active cases is also on the list.

Brooks (181.4 rate), the County of Newell (111.2), Lethbridge (156.6) Lethbridge County (126.8) and the MD of Taber (79.5) are also on the list.

All those regions are also in enhanced status.

There are 4,813 cases in the South Zone. There are 412 active cases and 4,346 recovered. The death total in the zone is at 55.

An AHS spokesperson told CHAT News on Friday AHS South Zone currently has 13 COVID-19 positive individuals in hospital. There are four at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital, with one of those in the ICU. Chinook Regional Hospital in Lethbridge has nine inpatients, with three in the ICU.

On Tuesday there are 306 schools in the province where outbreaks have been declared. Alberta Health’s threshold for declaring an outbreak in school is two cases being in a school while infectious within 14 days.

In the city, Crescent Heights High School is listed as having an outbreak.

In Brooks, an outbreak is listed at Christ the King Academy and at Holy Family Academy.

The website Support Our Students is tracking instances of cases in schools across the province.

Cypress County has totaled 139 cases – 11 active cases and the rest recovered.

The County of Forty Mile has 113 total cases. There is one active case, 110 recovered and there have been two deaths.

The MD of Taber has 301 total cases — 15 active cases, 280 recovered and there have been six deaths.

Special Areas No. 2 has 35 total cases – seven active, 27 recovered and there has been one death.

Brooks has 1,338 total cases — 35 active and 1,289 are recovered. Brooks has recorded 14 deaths.

The County of Newell has a total of 136 cases — nine active cases, 125 recovered and there have been two deaths.

The County of Warner has 142 total cases. There are five active cases, 135 are recovered cases and there have been two deaths in the county.

The City of Lethbridge has a total of 1,354 cases. There are 155 active cases, 1,191 recovered and there have been eight deaths. Lethbridge County has 415 cases, 32 active cases, 380 recovered and there have been three deaths.

The figures on alberta.ca are “up-to-date as of end of day Dec. 21, 2020.”

Read the full Dec. 22 update from the province here.

Saskatchewan confirmed 181 new cases of COVID-19 on Tueday, one in the South Zones.

Saskatchewan has a total of 13,942 cases, 3,945 considered active. There are 9,872 recovered cases and there have been 125 COVID-19 deaths in the province.