Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Tuesday, Jan. 19
456 new cases were reported, and 740 people are in hospital
The latest numbers:
- Alberta reported another 456 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, with a 5.6 per cent positivity rate — still well above the one to three per cent the province saw in the fall, said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health.
- There are 740 people in hospital, with 119 in intensive care, up slightly from 739 in hospital the previous day. Another 17 people have died for a total of 1,463 dead.
- Hinshaw said the province is working hard to adjust its planning, after hearing that it will receive no doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week. She said second-dose vaccines for those who live in long-term care or designated supportive living will be top priority.
- Alberta now has 12 cases of the coronavirus originally identified in the U.K., and two cases of the variant first found in South Africa. All cases are believed to be travel-related and there is no evidence of community spread, Hinshaw said.
- Premier Jason Kenney had said Alberta will have no more vaccine doses available to administer as first doses by the end of Monday or early Tuesday owing to the unexpected supply disruption the federal government announced last week.
- The premier says first-dose vaccinations have wrapped up at all 357 long-term care and designated supported living facilities in the province.
- While some health restrictions eased Monday, Hinshaw said the province's isn't out of the woods yet. She said it's important to continue to follow precautions and be mindful of community transmission in an effort to reduce case numbers and hospitalizations.
- A total of 92,315 vaccine doses have been administered as of Monday.
- Kenney says Alberta currently has the capacity to deliver 50,000 doses per week and by March it's expected the province would be able to administer about 200,000 doses per week. "But we do not have the supply to match," he said.
- The planned vaccination of First Nations and Métis individuals and seniors over age 75 has been put on hold.
- Since reaching a peak on Dec. 7 of 1,767 new cases per day, the seven-day average of daily new cases has been steadily declining in Alberta. As of Jan. 17, the seven-day average was 747, which is roughly the level it was at in mid-November when the numbers were exploding.
- The total of active cases in Alberta has been dropping slowly but steadily since it peaked at 21,138 on Dec. 13, a day after tougher provincial restrictions kicked in that made working from home mandatory for those who could, banned in-person service at restaurants, pubs and bars, and entirely closed entertainment and recreation facilities from movie theatres to gyms, personal and wellness services like spas and hair salons. A few days earlier, the province had also instituted a mandatory provincewide mask requirement, and banned all outdoor and indoor social gatherings with people beyond one's immediate household.
- Currently, 149 schools, about six per cent, are on alert or have outbreaks, with 212 cases in total. In-school transmission has likely occurred in 17 schools, the province said.
- The provincewide R-value is 0.84, meaning that each person who contracts COVID-19 will transmit coronavirus to less than one other person, on average.
See the detailed regional breakdown:
Here is the detailed regional breakdown of active cases as of Tuesday.
- Calgary zone: 4,249, down from 4,463 reported on Monday (40,366 recovered).
- Edmonton zone: 3,875, down from 4,237 (44,774 recovered).
- North zone: 1,499, down from 1,636 (7,714 recovered).
- South zone: 407, down from 413 (5,085 recovered).
- Central zone: 1,050, down from 1,148 (7,157 recovered).
- Unknown: 16, down from 26 (112 recovered).
Find out which neighbourhoods or communities have the most cases, how hard people of different ages have been hit, the ages of people in hospital, how Alberta compares to other provinces and more in: Here are the latest COVID-19 statistics for Alberta — and what they mean
Here are the latest Alberta COVID-19 stories from yesterday and today:
- Alberta will run out of COVID-19 vaccine by early Tuesday, Premier Jason Kenney said Monday
- Alberta's COVID-19 numbers continue to drop, with 474 new cases reported Monday
- Medicine Hat MLAs push for regional easings of COVID-19 restrictions
- From watching property to safeguarding health, pandemic has kept Alberta security services busy
- Alberta businesses lining up for grant program as revenues plummet
- Alberta's Phase 1 vaccination rollout slowed over Pfizer supply issues
- Alberta First Nations leaders frustrated by delay in vaccine rollout
- Eager for vaccine, Alberta health workers frustrated by suggestion they're not booking appointments
- Here are the latest COVID-19 statistics for Alberta — and what they mean
- With no post-holiday surge, Alberta's COVID-19 numbers appear to be on right track
- 1,500 flights and rising as Canadians seek sunny escapes despite surging COVID-19 crisis
- For the latest on what's happening in the rest of Canada and around the world on Friday, see here.
Alberta to run out of COVID-19 vaccine supply:
Kenney said Monday that because of the supply disruption the federal government announced last week, Alberta will have no more vaccine doses available to administer as first doses by late Monday or early Tuesday.
He also said no more new first dose appointments will be accepted and some first dose appointments already booked will be rescheduled over the coming days to accommodate limited supply. Doses have been allocated to ensure second doses are available for committed appointments.
The planned vaccination of First Nations and Métis individuals and seniors over age 75 has also been put on hold.
The federal government announced on Friday that shipments from Pfizer, one of two vaccine manufacturers approved for use in Canada, will be reduced until mid-February.
The Pfizer vaccine supply has been temporarily slowed because the pharmaceutical giant is cutting production to upgrade its manufacturing capacity at its facility in Belgium. The reduction affects every country receiving vaccines from the facility.
On the weekend, federal Procurement Minister Anita Anand said on Twitter that she had been in touch with Pfizer and had been assured the company is "deploying all efforts" to return to its regular delivery schedule as soon as possible.
Anand also said shipments for this coming week will be largely unaffected.
"I want to assure Albertans that despite this setback, we remain in position to immediately ramp up and get back to record vaccination numbers once sufficient doses are delivered. We remain undeterred in our efforts to get vaccines to those who need them most," Kenney said.
- For more, see: Alberta will run out of COVID-19 vaccine late Monday or early Tuesday, Premier Jason Kenney says
First Nations leaders frustrated:
Alberta First Nations leaders say they are frustrated with the way the province is handling COVID-19 vaccine distribution after the government paused the rollout of first doses until supply is restocked.
"The province continues to make unilateral decisions on First Nations health with questionable First Nation involvement. How many times must it be said that sovereign First Nations must be involved in the decisions that affect them?" Assembly of First Nations Alberta Regional Chief Marlene Poitras said Monday.
Poitras released a statement after Premier Jason Kenney announced that Alberta is expected to run out of vaccine doses by late Monday or early Tuesday, citing shortages of the Pfizer vaccine announced last week.
Kenney said Monday that means there is a pause on booking new first dose appointments, and that the expansion of the vaccination program to all Albertans over 75 and Indigenous people over 65 is being pushed back.
To find out more, see: Alberta First Nations leaders frustrated by delay in vaccine rollout
Health restrictions eased Monday:
Alberta has eased some public health restrictions starting as of Monday, allowing personal and wellness services businesses to reopen by appointment only.
The changes impact hair salons, barber shops, esthetics, manicure and pedicure businesses, reflexology, piercing and tattoo shops, and other personal and wellness services throughout the province.
Appointments should be limited to one-on-one services and businesses and clients are expected to keep following the public health guidelines.
Starting Jan. 18, up to 10 people will also be allowed to gather outdoors, and up to 20 people will be allowed to attend a funeral, with the caveat that all who attend wear masks and maintain two metres of physical distancing.
Funeral receptions are still not allowed, and indoor gatherings remain prohibited.
- To find out more, see: Alberta to ease some COVID-19 restrictions starting Monday, health minister says
Post-holiday COVID-19 numbers:
Fears of a post-holiday COVID-19 surge appear not to have materialized in Alberta, and experts say current trends are encouraging, but the province still has some way to go before major public-health measures can be safely lifted.
Before the holidays, Kenney said he was concerned that Albertans might misunderstand or disregard the stricter rules imposed in December restricting family gatherings.
But it appears Albertans generally followed the rules and limited the spread of the virus.
A post-holiday spike in cases would be expected to have shown up in the data by now, but so far there has been no major increase.
- To find out more, see: With no post-holiday surge, Alberta's COVID-19 numbers appear to be on right track
Analysis on Alberta and COVID-19 denialism:
In a new analysis piece, CBC's Drew Anderson studies how anxiety, along with economic consequences, have made the province a prime breeding ground for conspiracy.
"Those forces have conspired to make Alberta a prime breeding ground for the kind of conspiratorial thinking on display, which pulls nuggets of truth from the flurry of science in real time and contorts it into a narrative of oppression. It is a near-perfect storm for the small minority caught up in it," Anderson writes.
"The question is: how did they find themselves in its path?"
- To read out more: COVID denialism and the Alberta context
Calls for restrictions to be eased:
Two United Conservative MLAs are pushing for COVID-19 restrictions to be altered on a regional basis, rather than apply the same rules across the entire province.
Drew Barnes and Michaela Glasgo, who represent ridings that cover the Medicine Hat area, say the public health orders are often disproportionate to the low number of cases in their southeastern region.
They've both heard from many constituents urging them to ask for relief from some of the measures — and that message has been relayed to the premier.
"I think it's time to open up now," Barnes told CBC News. "I would ask the premier to consider this strongly."
On the front lines of COVID-19:
A Calgary emergency room physician is capturing life on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic through her camera lens.
For the past six weeks, Dr. Heather Patterson has visited hospitals in the city to take photos of what unfolds in the hallways and patient rooms — and even in the ICU.
"As the pandemic began to affect our Calgary hospitals and community, I realized that I wanted to capture what was actually happening inside our hospitals," Patterson told the Calgary Eyeopener on Thursday.
"I wanted to tell the authentic story of this team of people who have a common goal, and how we're achieving that."
- To see her moving photos, see: Calgary ER doctor captures life on front lines of pandemic through photography project