Alberta expanding availability of rapid tests, easing restrictions amid Omicron variant

The maximum number of people allowed for private indoor gatherings stays at 10, and people under 18 don’t count toward that total.

Even with the changes, Kenney said the province’s rules on such gatherings are among the strictest in the country.

“We wish that we could further relax these and other public health measures now,” Kenney said. “I was very much hoping to do so before Christmas but regrettably what we are expecting in terms of Omicron spread requires that we be cautious and prudent in the weeks to come.”

There have been 50 Omicron cases identified in Alberta as of the Tuesday update, a jump from 30 on Monday.

Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley responded to the announcement later on Wednesday. She said she’s pleased more rapid tests will be made available and the expansion of the booster shot program.

Notley agreed that cancelling the limit on the number households represented at a private indoor social gathering is sound, but rejected the rationale behind including unvaccinated people in the gatherings. She said inviting unvaccinated Albertans to gather with limited restrictions “is a reckless step in the wrong direction.”

Dr. Deena Hinshaw said the province is taking lessons learned from past variants to guide its decisions this time. In the summer evidence from a small number of comparative jurisdictions and forecasting was used to move to an endemic state and fully open the province.

“As we all know that move was too early, and the fourth wave had a devastating impact on our health-care system,” Alberta’s chief medical officer of health said. “I cannot overstate the importance of having learned from that experience and the need to be extremely cautious as we learn more about the Omicron variant.”

She said evidence has made clear that Omicron is more transmissible, causes more breakthrough infections among those who have had COVID and those who are double-vaccinated.

She acknowledged it may be less likely to cause severe outcomes than previous variants but had a warning for Albertans: The overall impact on ICUs is still rising in other parts of the world where Omicron is spreading fast.

“Said in a different way, even if the risk of each individual case needing ICU care is lower, if the total number of cases is much larger the total acute care impact would be expected to be significant,” Hinshaw said.

She added there is a very real risk the fifth wave could be much worse than previous waves in terms of the overall impact on the health system due to the sheer volume of cases.

She urged every to make decisions over the holidays thinking about our communities and health-care system.

Beginning Friday, Dec. 17 free Rapid Antigen Testing kits will be available at select Alberta Health Services sites and select pharmacies.

Each kit will include five tests and detailed instructions on use. More than 500,000 kits will be available for at-home use at about 740 sites across the province. Albertans can get a kit for themselves and one for others in their household if they have the necessary health-care numbers.

“The kits for those who don’t have symptoms. If you do have symptoms or if you receive a positive result on a rapid test, people should immediately isolate and do a PCR test at an AHS assessment centre,” said the premier.

Health Minister Jason Copping said because the tests are self-administered and have no documentation they cannot be used for entry to events and venues that are part of the Restrictions Exemption Program and cannot be used for travel.

Kits will also be available to any K-6 school on Alert status, which is any school with at least two cases that attended school while infectious in the previous 14 days.

Starting today any Albertan 50 years of age and over and all health-care workers can book an appointment for a third dose if six months have passed from the second dose.

The province has about 475,000 Pfizer or Moderna mRNA doses in inventory and 64,000 appointments over the next four weeks. Kenney claims that’s not enough based on the number of walk-ins and expected rates of demand with the expansion of the program.

Kenney said he renewed his call on feds for more testing kits, to approve more easy-to-use tests and for more vaccine doses to further expand the booster shot program. The premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met yesterday to discuss the threat posed by the Omicron variant.

Copping said Alberta is responding to the new variant with an abundance of caution and that policies will be adjusted if and as needed.

The province supports the federal government’s travel restrictions from countries where the variant is spreading, said Copping, and is conducting full case investigations for all international travellers. Every COVID case is being tested for the new variant.

The Omicron variant has been detected in 77 countries around the world three weeks after being discovered in southern Africa.

“The new variant has mutations that appear to pose increased risks as noted by the premier, especially in terms of its ability to spread,” Copping said. “Whether it causes more severe illness and its overall impact in a highly vaccinated population, those things aren’t yet clear. We’re watching the evidence closely, but we’re not just waiting for more evidence, we’re responding right now.”

Alberta Health is working with Alberta Health Services on planning to restore intensive care unit surge capacity if Omicron begins to put pressure on the health-care system.

Copping said another 5,000 doses of the viral vector Janssen vaccine for those who want it instead of the mRNA vaccines.

by Chris Brown

Alberta expanding availability of rapid tests, easing restrictions amid Omicron variant

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