COVID-19

For current Chief Medical Officer of Health’s Orders that are in effect please visit: https://www.alberta.ca/covid-19-orders-and-legislation.aspx

Current Situation
 

Total Cases

Deaths

Recovered

Current as of

Alberta

54,836

 (+1728)

524

 (+5)

39,381 

 (+1002)

28 November

Canada

364,810

 

11,976

 

290,700

 

28 November

Global

 62,270,332

 

1,453,524

 

39,920,505

 

29 November

**These numbers are changing rapidly and may not be up to date at the time this report is released. More data is available online at Alberta.ca/covid19statistics. Red is change from previous 24 hrs

 The below may help you format some of the protocols you want to enact on your Nations. They will at least let you know what your non-Nation neighbours are up to and some of the ideas are good ones.

Provincial Updates:
  • There were 14,931 active cases in the community.
  • There were 415 individuals hospitalized and 88 individuals in the ICU.
  • There are 645 active cases and 2,385 recovered cases at continuing care facilities; 331 facility residents have died.
  • 21,657 more tests have been completed, for a total of 2,211,110 tests.
Helpful Links
Additional COVID-19 health measures

Mask requirements (Mandatory restriction – Calgary and Edmonton areas – effective Nov. 24)

  • Masks are mandatory in all indoor workplaces, except when working alone in an office or a safely distanced cubicle or an appropriate barrier is in place
    • This applies to all employees, visitors, delivery personnel and contractors
    • This includes all locations where employees are present and masks won’t pose a safety risk
    • This does not change current student mask requirements in schools
 

Indoor and outdoor gatherings (mandatory restriction – Province wide – effective Nov. 24):

  • No indoor social gatherings are permitted in any setting (private homes, public spaces or workplaces)
    • Indoor close contacts must be limited to people in the same household
    • People who live alone can have up to the same 2 non-household contacts for the duration of the restriction
    • Work and mutual support group meetings are not social gatherings, but attendance should be limited and public health measures followed
    • This does not apply to service visits from caregivers, health or child care providers and co-parenting arrangements
  • Outdoor social gatherings are limited to 10 people and must not have an indoor component
    • Backyard gatherings that require movement in/out of homes are not permitted
    • Attendees should remain distanced at all times and follow public health measures
  • Festivals and events are prohibited (indoors and outdoors)
 

Weddings and Funerals (mandatory restriction – Province wide – effective Nov. 24):

  • Maximum of 10 people for wedding ceremonies or funeral services
    • This includes the officiant, bride/groom and witnesses
    • This does not include staff or organizers who are not considered an invited guest
    • This applies to any facility, including places of worship and funeral homes.
    • This includes services held indoors or outdoors, seated or non-seated.
  • Receptions are not permitted

Places of Worship (mandatory restriction – enhanced status areas – effective Nov. 24):

  • Faith leaders must determine their normal congregant attendance (pre-COVID) and limit it to 1/3 attendance
  • Must hold services at their normal location, including rental spaces like a community hall
  • Physical distancing between households must be maintained
  • Mask use is mandatory
  • Online services are encouraged
  • In-person faith group meetings and other religious gatherings are not permitted in private homes while these measures are in effect
  • Faith leaders and others speaking in front of a congregation are permitted to remove their masks while speaking provided they maintain 2 metre distance from others while doing so. Once finished speaking, the speaker must put on their mask again.
  • In-person faith group meetings conducted at a place of worship can continue but physical distancing and public health measures must be followed

Faith communities are often significant aspects of people’s lives, and include intimate and close contact between members. This measure will help limit exposure at these activities, reducing outbreaks and protecting vulnerable members who attend.

 

Business closed for in-person service (Mandatory restriction – enhanced status areas – effective Nov. 27)

Businesses that are closed for in-person service include:

  • Banquet halls, conference centres, trade shows, auditoria and concert venues, non-approved/licensed markets, community centres
  • Children’s play places or indoor playgrounds
  • All levels of sport (professional, semi-professional, junior, collegiate/universities and amateur). Exemptions may be considered.
 
 

Restaurants, bars, pubs and lounges open with restrictions (mandatory restriction – enhanced status areas – effective Nov. 27)

Restaurants, bars, pubs and lounges will be open with restrictions if they follow all public health guidance in place including:

  • Maximum of 6 people from the same immediate household at a table and no movement between tables.
    • People who live alone can meet with up to 2 non-household contacts as long as they’re the same two throughout the duration of these restrictions
  • Only seated eating and drinking is permitted. No other services or entertainment will be allowed, including billiards, games or darts.
  • Liquor can be sold until 10 pm and food-serving establishments must close to in person-dining at 11 pm. Liquor sales apply to casinos, but casinos are not required to close at 11 pm.

Albertans are encouraged to use take out, delivery, drive-thru and curbside pick-up options.

Additional inspections will occur to verify that public health measures are being followed. Establishments that are non compliant may face orders and fines.

Business and services open with restricted capacity (Mandatory restriction – enhanced status areas – effective Nov. 27)

Most retail businesses may remain open with capacity limited to 25% of the occupancy set under the Alberta Fire Code.

  • Retail, including liquor and cannabis
  • Grocery stores
  • Pharmacies
  • Clothing stores
  • Computer and technology stores
  • Hardware
  • Automotive
  • Alberta approved farmers’ markets
  • Unlicensed outdoor seasonal markets

Some entertainment and event services  may remain open with capacity limited to 25% of the occupancy set under the Alberta Fire Code.

  • Movie theatres
  • Museums and galleries
  • Libraries
  • Casinos, offering slots only. Table games must be closed at this time.
  • Indoor entertainment centres including amusement parks, water parks, bingo halls and racing centres.
  • Indoor fitness, recreation, sports and physical activity centres, including dance and yoga studios, martial arts, gymnastics and private or public swimming pools.
    • Facilities can be open for individual studio time, training or exercise only.
    • There can be no group fitness, group classes, group training, team practices or games.
    • Instructors can use facility to broadcast virtual fitness classes from, but there can be no group class.

All public health guidance and physical distancing requirements must be followed.

Albertans and businesses are encouraged to limit in-person visits and use curbside pick up, delivery and online services instead.

Businesses open by appointment only (Mandatory restriction – enhanced status areas – Effective Nov. 27)

Businesses open by appointment only  are not permitted to offer walk-in services. Appointments should be limited to one-on-one services.

  • Personal services such as hair salons and barbershops, esthetics, manicure, pedicure, body waxing and make-up, piercing and tattoo services,
  • Wellness services including acupuncture, massage and reflexology
  • Professional services such as lawyers, mediators, accountants and photographers
  • Private one-on-one lessons (no private group lessons permitted)
  • Hotels, motels, hunting and fishing lodges

These businesses must follow all current public health guidance for their sector and should consider virtual options where possible.

Home-based businesses should follow the restrictions for the type of service they provide.

K – 12 Schools (Mandatory restriction – Province wide – Starting Nov. 30):

Grades 7-12 students

  • Move to at-home learning Nov. 30 to Jan. 8, except during winter break*
  • Resume in-person classes Jan. 11
  • Diploma exams are optional for rest of the school year. Students and families can choose to write an exam or receive an exemption for the January, April, June and August 2021 exams.

Grades K-6 students (including Early Childhood Services)

  • Continue in-person learning until their scheduled winter break (generally Dec. 18*)
  • Move to at-home learning after the winter break until Jan. 8
  • Resume in-person classes Jan. 11

*Schools have different winter break schedules, check with your school for details.

Exemption is available for students with disabilities or in outreach programs 

Other:

  • Employers and those who are self-employed are encouraged to work from home if they have the ability to do so.
  • The Government of Alberta will reassess the situation by December 15 and advise Albertans on next steps.

Not following mandatory restrictions could result in fines of $1,000 per ticketed offence and up to $100,000 through the courts.

All existing guidance and legal orders remain in place in all areas.

New acute care measures for visitors

Effective November 25, Alberta Health Services (AHS) is introducing temporary measures for visitor access to AHS acute care sites that have an outbreak or are in communities where COVID-19 transmission is high (watch or enhanced status).

  • For hospital patients, one designated family/support person under specific circumstances. 
  • For maternity and postpartum units, one designated family/support person. In addition, a doula or surrogate may be permitted. 
  • For pediatrics and NICU, including critical care, up to two designated family/support persons. 
  • For end-of-life, one designated family/support person; other visitors must be pre-arranged with the site or unit. 
  • For ambulatory care including emergency, one designated family/support person where possible. 
  • Restrictions may vary site-to-site. Albertans should review visitation guidelines and, where possible, arrange a phone call or virtual visit instead. 

Changes to contact tracing

  • With the significant increase in new cases and demand, the Alberta Health Services (AHS) contact tracing team is facing a slowly growing backlog.
  • To maximize the impact of case investigation and contact tracing, AHS will not call diagnosed cases who are no longer infectious.
  • Instead of working in sequence, AHS will start with the most recently diagnosed cases to reach as many recent cases as possible. This will have the greatest benefit in preventing further transmission.
  • Anyone not receiving a call will receive a text message from AHS providing them with guidance on if and when their isolation period has ended.
  • All Albertans who test positive for COVID-19 will receive a text message to notify them when their isolation period will end.
  • AHS continues to work to further increase its teams of contact tracers.

Symptoms for children and adults

  • Everyone in Alberta should monitor themselves for symptoms.
  • Adults over age 18 should stay home and get tested if they have any COVID-19 symptoms.
  • Children should refer to the daily screening checklist for instructions.
  • If a child has any of the core symptoms, they need to isolate for at least 10 days from the start of symptoms or until the symptoms are gone, whichever is longer, or until they test negative for COVID-19.
  • Core symptoms for children: cough, fever, shortness of breath, loss of sense of taste or smell.
  • For any other symptoms in a child, please assess the number of symptoms and follow the guidance in the checklist.

These are fast changing times for those of us in Emergency Management. Can you please try and find the time to keep me updated on what’s going on in your areas. Thanks everyone, stay safe. Each day is one day closer to a vaccine now.

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