Alberta moves up Stage 2 relaunch
Wider reopening starting Friday is a ‘calculated risk,’ says Nenshi
Stage 2 of Alberta’s economic relaunch will begin Friday — a full week earlier than the province had initially targeted — giving Albertans an expanded set of activities that can resume with restrictions.
Premier Jason Kenney said Tuesday the province “has successfully controlled the spread of COVID-19 since Stage 1 restrictions were lifted.”
“That’s why we’re able to move to Stage 2 safely and sooner than expected,” the premier said, adding the province’s decision “is anchored in science and solid data.”
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Albertans have responsibly managed risk, making personal sacrifices to help control the spread and keep themselves and others safe.”
Starting later this week, K-12 schools can open for requested diploma exams and summer school.
Stage 2 also includes the reopening of public libraries, wellness services (such as massage, acupuncture and reflexology), personal services (including esthetics, cosmetic skin and body treatments, manicures, pedicures, waxing, facial treatment and artificial tanning), as well as cinemas and theatres.
More surgeries will be allowed during the next stage of the economic relaunch. Community halls can reopen, instrumental concerts can take place, and casinos and bingo halls can open to the public with restrictions on table games.
Some activities originally scheduled under Stage 3 — including indoor fitness and recreation centres, as well as organized sports — will be allowed to resume under Stage 2. Gyms and arenas can reopen, while team sports and pools for leisure swimming have received the go-ahead.
The 50 per cent capacity limit for provincial campgrounds is also being lifted. By July 1, all camping sites will be open for reservations.
Events and gatherings can also be larger beginning Friday.
Up to 50 people will be allowed at indoor social gatherings, including wedding and funeral receptions, as well as birthday parties.
But up to 100 people will be permitted to gather at outdoor events, as well as indoor seated events such as wedding and funeral ceremonies.
There will be no cap on the number of people allowed to gather at places of worship, restaurants, cafés, lounges and bars, casinos and bingo halls.
VLTS in restaurants and bars will no longer be off-limits.
Friends and families from different households can form cohorts to a maximum of 15 people during Stage 2.
Performers can interact with up to 50 others, while sports teams can play in region-only cohorts of up to 50 players.
Physical distancing and hygiene requirements remain in place for most activities and the province has issued detailed guidelines for businesses permitted to reopen, to limit the potential spread of COVID -19.
Chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Albertans must stay vigilant to keep case numbers low.
“While we’re still not back to our pre-pandemic lives and we need to accept precautions as a part of our new normal, we are closer than we were,” she said.
“We must temper our enthusiasm with caution. We have made it to Stage 2 earlier than expected because we have remained vigilant. My message to you today is we need to remain vigilant. We must continue to follow public health guidelines.”
Kenney warned there would likely be more cases, hospitalizations and novel coronavirus-related deaths in the months to come.
“There will be local outbreaks and some of those may require targeted measures to stamp them out,” the premier said.
“The issue is not a small increase of positive cases from time to time. The issue is whether or not our health-care system becomes overwhelmed.”
CITY, SMALL BUSINESSES ANALYZING STAGE 2 IMPLICATIONS
While Tuesday’s announcement was a welcome step for plenty of small businesses throughout Alberta, concerns remain surrounding existing uncertainties, according to Annie Dormuth, director of provincial affairs for Alberta at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
“A lot of small businesses are still struggling to adapt to what I guess you would call this new normal. Concerns about PPE, maintaining social distancing and also just having to cope with lower revenues than they saw before … are still top of concern for Alberta small businesses,” Dormuth said.
“Although businesses are back to reopening, it’s definitely not back to businesses as normal. A lot of them are saying they can’t take on additional costs right now.”
Mayor Naheed Nenshi said the easing of restrictions also comes with a few caveats for Calgary. He said it would take some time for the city’s gyms and recreational centres to safely reopen, as operations ramp up and laid off staff return to work.
Nenshi said the city would likely rescind its state of local emergency order.
“That said, that doesn’t change the guidelines. The guidelines are still in place. The rules are still the same,” he said.
“It really is up to citizens, to individuals, to keep up their good actions, to make sure you’re keeping that physical distancing of two metres … (and) to make sure that you are wearing a face covering.”
Nenshi added the city was set to receive 500,000 masks in the coming days. It planned to hand them out to residents who can’t necessarily take advantage of the province’s system for distributing masks at fast food restaurant drive-thrus.
The mayor encouraged Calgarians to maintain hygiene habits they’ve adopted over the past three months.
“It would be very surprising if we did not have a resurgence in cases after this reopening,” Nenshi said.
“It’s a calculated risk that the province is taking.”
To advance to the second stage of relaunch, hospitalizations due to COVID -19 infection in Alberta had to either be on the decline, or rising by no more than five per cent for two consecutive weeks.
Intensive-care unit beds set aside for COVID-19 patients had to also be at less than 50 per cent capacity. Kenney said hospitalizations have been declining, while just 12 per cent of the province’s ICU beds for COVID-19 patients are currently occupied.
Hinshaw said provincial healthcare officials are also monitoring the number of new coronavirus cases each day, the rate of positive tests and active regional case rates.
There were 356 active COVID -19 cases across the province as of Tuesday, of which 210 were in Alberta Health Services’ Calgary zone.
Upwards of 46 people infected by the virus remained in hospital in Alberta, including six in ICU.
The province reported 27 new cases and two more deaths due to COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing its total to 151 fatalities since the pandemic began.
Kenney said the province “never came close” to reaching its capacity for COVID-19 patients in hospital.
“What we did over the past three months was to buy time,” he said.
“The point wasn’t to indefinitely shut down everything that we do in society. Now we can proceed with caution but also optimism.
“We don’t need to panic when there will inevitably be increases in active cases.”