February 3, 2021

By Regan Tate

Higher case numbers and variant concerns are why Alberta is taking a slow, phased approach to re-opening

Feb 3, 2021 | 4:33 PM

Medicine Hat, AB–Alberta’s Chief Medical Health Officer provided further explanation on Wednesday regarding the province’s approach to reopening. The plan announced last Friday is much more cautious than when Alberta relaunched back in the spring.

Doctor Hinshaw noted while case numbers and hospitalizations are continuing to decline, overall our numbers are far higher than they were on May 14, 2020. At that time there were 57 people in hospital compared to 539 today. There are 6,599 active cases in the province right now, almost 7 times the amount we had in the spring.

Hinshaw said our province has made remarkable progress over these last two months. “We have bent the curve and every Albertan can be proud of that. I know that these gains have required deep sacrifices for many business owners and other Albertans”.

However, case numbers combined with concerns about new variants causing cases to spike again is why the province is not moving to relax measures for a larger number of sectors all at once as seen in the spring. As a result the province is also moving slowly with those sectors scheduled to start re-opening Monday February 8th. “It is important to ensure we are taking a slow, phased approach to ensure we are not doing too much too fast especially as we learn more about the new variants of COVID-19 and work to prevent their spread in Alberta”.

Earlier today, Premier Jason Kenney did not rule out having to tighten measures again if the variant spreads widely across the province. “I know no one wants to be on the roller coaster but we can not guarantee people that there won’t be a change of policy in the future, we don’t want there to be”, Kenney stated. Hinshaw believes the approach the province is taking “should limit the need to jump back and forth between the easing and tightening of restrictions which is challenging for everyone especially those whose businesses and paycheques are affected.”

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Hinshaw said the best way to get businesses, sports teams, and cultural activities back up and running is by being extra serious about following the public health guidance and working hard to prevent spread. She believes our previous success in bending the curve does not guarantee it will happen again. “Our actions now will help determine how fast we can proceed and whether we can continue bringing our numbers down and moving safely forward.”

As for the daily update, here is a breakdown of the last 24 hours.

The province has confirmed 259 new cases of COVID-19 and 11 deaths were reported.

6,800 tests were completed and the provincial positivity rate sits at 3.5 percent.

Currently there are 539 people in hospital, 94 of those are in the ICU.

In Medicine Hat, there are 11 active cases, 503 recoveries, and 14 recorded deaths attributed to COVID-19.

Cypress County currently has 2 active cases and 143 recoveries.

In Newell County, there are 3 active cases, 152 recoveries and two deaths.

The city of Brooks has 1 active case, 1,347 recoveries, and 14 deaths attributed to COVID-19.

Lethbridge County has 21 active cases, 487 recoveries, and seven deaths.

The city of Lethbridge has 142 active cases, 1589 recoveries, and 12 deaths.

109, 341 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Alberta. As of Wednesday, almost 19 thousand Albertans have been full vaccinated meaning they have received 2 doses of the vaccine.

Today’s full update is available here: