Nenshi reaffirms need for caution
More restrictions lifted as province announces 2 more deaths, 29 new cases
Mayor Naheed Nenshi repeated his call for caution as the city heads into the first weekend in months that restaurants and bars have been allowed to open for sitdown service.
Calgary took its next steps into the first stage of Alberta’s gradual reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday, and Nenshi said he’s heard “excellent things” about how people are still following public health precautions.
But he underlined that it’s still critical to limit contact with people you don’t live with, keep two metres from others in public, wear a mask or face covering when you venture out and wash your hands frequently.
“As we start to feel like maybe we’re doing OK, maybe we’re starting to beat this thing, we cannot let our guard down,” he said.
The province announced Thursday that two more Albertans have died due to COVID-19, bringing the total death toll to 143. A woman in her 80s living at Agecare Sunrise Gardens in Brooks died from the disease, as well as another woman older than 100 living at Intercare Chinook Care Centre.
In a statement, Intercare said the last death associated with Chinook Care Centre was May 18, and Thursday’s announcement may have been from delayed reporting. An Alberta Health spokesperson confirmed that the death related to the facility happened earlier this month, and it took some time to verify that the woman had COVID -19.
A total of 29 new cases of the novel coronavirus were confirmed since Wednesday, bringing Alberta’s total to 6,955 since the global pandemic began.
Of those, 6,160 have now fully recovered, representing nearly 89 per cent of all Alberta infections recorded since March.
The number of active cases throughout the province continues to decline, with Alberta’s top doctor noting Wednesday that active case figures were at their lowest in nearly two months.
But there are still 652 active cases of the virus in Alberta. Roughly four-fifths, or 518, of them are in Alberta Health Services’ Calgary zone, which extends north to Didsbury, east to Gleichen, south to Claresholm and west to the Rocky Mountain parks.
There are also 50 Albertans hospitalized due to COVID -19, including four in intensive care. A total of 104 deaths have been recorded in the Calgary area.
MORE CALGARY RESTRICTIONS LIFT
Beginning Friday, playgrounds will be allowed to reopen, Calgary Emergency Management Agency Deputy Chief Sue Henry said.
The news is a welcome relief for parents of cooped-up kids, but more than 1,100 playgrounds across the city need to be inspected before they open, so they won’t all be ready immediately.
Regional playgrounds that serve more than one community, such as Bowness Park and Stanley Park, will reopen first. That work is expected to wrap up by June 3.
“Playgrounds, by nature, are high-touch surfaces,” Henry said, noting that they aren’t cleaned regularly after people use them, so people should wash or sanitize their hands before and after they go.
The city is keeping a close eye on public transit as cuts and layoffs mean service is now scaled back by about 30 per cent. Those changes, which include temporarily cancelling 25 bus routes, took effect Monday — the same day that more businesses were allowed to reopen.
Calgary Transit director Russell Davies said the system is still working, and there are only “minor overloads” on a few routes.
Barriers to separate bus drivers from passengers are now being installed and once that work is finished around late June, the city is planning on returning to frontdoor boarding to ensure riders are paying the fare.
Also on Friday, the city will start cutting off Stephen Avenue to cars after 11 a.m. to let businesses expand their patios and give cyclists and pedestrians more space.