Capacity limits return for restaurants, bars, pubs as Omicron threat grows

Venues with capacity of between 500 and 1,000 occupants, are limited to 500 people. Food or drink consumption in seated audience settings or during intermissions in the above-mentioned venues is not permitted.

There is no impact on venues under 500.

“With the increased transmission risk of Omicron, it’s important that the overall numbers of people mixing in venues be limited and that attendees remain masked at all times,” said Health Minister Jason Copping. “We need to avoid superspreader events.”

Copping also asked Albertans to consider how they can reduce interactions, suggesting going to one family dinner instead of two and he encouraged workplaces to consider cancelling any holiday gatherings.

Alberta is also expanding eligibility of COVID-19 booster doses and the availability of rapid test kits.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said data on Omicron in Alberta and around the world shows case counts are doubling every two to three days.

“Omicron is now our dominant strain and there is increasing community transmission in the province,” she said. “This means if someone tests positive for COVID-19, they should assume they have the Omicron variant.”

All contact tracing capacity has been redirected to high-risk settings. Confirmed cases not linked to settings like continuing care, acute care and other congregate sites have been asked to notify their own contacts.

Hinshaw said she is taking the situation so seriously that she has cancelled her plans for the holiday season.

“To think about having to change holiday plans at the last second, especially after having no gatherings last year, is not fair,” Hinshaw said “Unfortunately there is no negotiating with the virus”

Active cases in Alberta have risen by nearly 50 per cent in one week, while the positivity rate that was near three per cent for most of the month has risen to 11 per cent.

“We’ve also seen a rise in the number of confirmed Omicron cases in the province and the proportion of total cases identified as the new variant is growing quickly,” Premier Jason Kenney said during the Tuesday update. “Between the third and ninth of December, it represented just one per cent of all cases. Between the tenth and sixteenth of December, about 22 per cent of all new cases in Alberta were Omicron.”

“Between December 16th and 18th, Omicron represented roughly 52 per cent of all cases,” Kenney said.

The premier said data continues to emerge and is being closely studied, but what is known is the variant is more transmissible than any previous strain of the virus.

Kenney said the interval was moved from six to five months was made to protect Albertans urgently. He said evidence is becoming available about the potential for re-infection among those who’ve had previous strains and breakthrough infections in those vaccinated.

The number of sites available to book vaccines across the province will be expanded and they’ll work with community groups and large employers to make getting a booster as convenient as possible, said Kenney.

The premier also announced the province will attempt to get 10 million rapid tests to supplement what is being provided by the federal government. He said they hope those will be available to Albertans in early January.

There are 39 active cases of COVID-19 in Medicine Hat on Tuesday.

Medicine Hat has had 4,638 total cases – the 39 active, 4,521 recovered and there have been 78 deaths.

There are four new cases in the city in the past 24 hours and two new recoveries.

An AHS spokesperson told CHAT News Tuesday that there are currently 18 COVID-19 positive inpatients in the South Zone with two of those in the ICU. There are two inpatients at Medicine Hat Regional Hospital with no COVID-19 positive patients in the ICU.

Chinook Regional Hospital has 13 inpatients with two in the ICU. Cardston Health Centre has one inpatient.

There have been 1,609 cases of the Omicron variant identified in Alberta, up from 1,045 in Monday’s update. Nineteen of those cases are in the South Zone.

Among Hatters five years old and over, 80.6 per cent have received at least one dose of vaccine and 75.3 per cent are fully vaccinated.

76.5 per cent of all Hatters have received at least one dose of vaccine at the latest update and 71.6 per cent of Hatters are fully vaccinated.

There are 6,045 active cases in the province, up 393 from Monday, and 334,395 recovered cases in the province, up 391.

Alberta’s total cases from the start of the pandemic is 343,734.

There are 786 new cases in the province in the past 24 hours.

There are now 329 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, 69 of which are in ICU, and 3,294 deaths.

The province completed 7,305 tests in the past 24 hours.

The positivity rate is about 10.8 per cent.

Alberta has administered 7,356,384 doses of vaccine at the latest update.

Among new cases today, 24.7 per cent are unvaccinated, 0.9 per cent are partially vaccinated and 74.5 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Among current hospitalizations, 61.1 per cent are unvaccinated, 3.7 per cent are partially vaccinated and 35.3 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Province-wide, 83.8 per cent of Albertans five years old and up have received at least one dose of vaccine and 77.2 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Among Alberta’s total population, 78.7 per cent have received at least one dose of vaccine and 72.6 per cent are fully vaccinated.

There are no local outbreaks listed on AHS website.

There are no local schools on Outbreak status. One school in Medicine Hat is on Alert status, and there are none in the surrounding area.

There are 215 active cases and 23,043 recovered in the South Zone. The death total in the zone is at 290.

The province-wide reproductive value for the weeks of Nov. 29-Dec. 12 is 0.96. It is 0.90 in Calgary Zone, 0.99 in Edmonton Zone and 0.93 in the rest of Alberta.

It’s updated every two weeks. At the last update from Nov. 15-28, the numbers were 0.88 in the province, 0.90 in Calgary Zone, 0.95 in Edmonton Zone and 0.80 in the rest of Alberta.

Cypress County has totaled 876 cases. There are 10 active cases, 860 recovered and six deaths. The latest one-dose vaccination rate for all ages is 69.1 per cent, the two-dose rate is 64.7.

The County of Forty Mile has 345 total cases. There are no active cases, 340 recovered and there have been five deaths. The latest one-dose vaccination rate for all ages is 42.6 per cent, the two-dose rate is 39.3.

The MD of Taber has 1,311 total cases — nine active cases, 1,284 recovered and there have been 18 deaths. The latest one-dose vaccination rate for all ages is 50 per cent, the two-dose rate is 46.3.

Special Areas No. 2 has 274 total cases – six active cases, 264 recovered and there have been three deaths.

Brooks has 2,108 total cases — five active cases and 2,079 are recovered. Brooks has recorded 24 deaths.

The County of Newell has a total of 529 cases — 12 active cases, 509 recovered and there have been eight deaths. The latest one-dose vaccination rate for all ages is 68.7 per cent, the two-dose rate is 63.5. The Newell numbers include the city of Brooks and part of Special Areas No. 2.

The County of Warner has 799 total cases. There are five active cases, 790 are recovered cases and there have been four deaths in the county. The latest one-dose vaccination rate for all ages is 61.9 per cent, the two-dose rate is 56.4.

The City of Lethbridge has a total of 7,321 cases. There are 90 active cases, 7,169 recovered and there have been 62 deaths. Lethbridge County has 2,022 cases, 24 active cases, 1,978 recovered and there have been 19 deaths.

Not all the areas on the vaccination data map match the case count map.

The figures on alberta.ca are “up-to-date as of end of day Dec. 20, 2021.”

Saskatchewan has a total of 82,334 cases, 556 considered active. There are 80,835 recovered cases and there have been 943 COVID-19 deaths in the province.

by Chris Brown

Capacity limits return for restaurants, bars, pubs as Omicron threat grows

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