COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta
The COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta is part of an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019, an infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The Canadian province of Alberta has the third-most number of cases of COVID-19 in Canada. Alberta is the fourth most populated province in Canada with a population of 4,067,175 representing 11.57%. By July 31, there were 10,843 confirmed cases, 1,386 active cases and 196 deaths in Alberta. The National total is 116,116 confirmed cases, 6,153 active cases and 8,933 deaths. The majority of cases have been in the Calgary zone, which has 6,499 cases.
Jason Kenney, the Premier of Alberta, working closely with the Emergency Management Cabinet Committee, followed the recommendations of Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, in response to the "rapidly evolving global threat". A state of public health emergency was declared on March 17. Alberta's public health laboratory greatly increased tests for COVID-19, reaching 1,000 a day by March 8, and 3,000 a day by March 26. Hinshaw said that by March 20, "World-wide, Alberta has been conducting among the highest number of tests per capita." As of July 31, 685,297 tests have been conducted in Alberta. On June 9, 2020, Kenney confirmed at a news conference that the entire province of Alberta would move to Stage 2 of the government's economic relaunch plan on Friday, June 12, when more businesses and services would be allowed to reopen with two-metre physical distancing requirements and other public health measures in place.
Timeline
March 1–7
In a March 4 statement, Hinshaw said that there were no confirmed presumptive COVID-19 cases in Alberta, and the risk at that time was low. Hinshaw advised Albertans to prepare in case COVID-19 should arrive here in Alberta by having "three days’ worth of essential items like food, water and medicine on hand in the event of any emergency." She cautioned against panic buying and advised Albertans to "plan ahead".On March 5, Hinshaw reported Alberta's first presumptive COVID-19 case. On February 21, a woman who was in her 50s, and had been on the Grand Princess Cruise ship had returned to the Calgary zone—an area that includes Calgary, Nanton, Canmore and Claresholm on February 21 and had tested positive. Hinshaw said that more positive cases were found as a result of the work of public health teams who had contacted the 44 Albertans repatriated from the Grand Princess.
March 8–14
On March 9, Hinshaw said that tests had revealed the fifth, sixth, and seventh cases of COVID-19 in Alberta. Case five was an older woman who had been on the Princess Cruise. Case 6, in the Calgary zone, was a young man who had travelled to Ukraine, Netherlands and Turkey. Case seven was a woman who was on the MS Braemar Caribbean cruise ship. Hinshaw said that, COVID-19 "can spread person-to-person by larger droplets, like from a cough or sneeze…or by touching contaminated objects or surfaces, then touching your eyes, nose or mouth." Hinshaw acknowledged the work of Health Link, and Alberta's public health laboratory, among others. The laboratory "dramatically increased" capacity for running tests for COVID-19. On March 7 300 tests were performed and on March 8 alone they performed 700 tests. Since all of the cases tested in Alberta were subsequently confirmed, "positive samples tested by Alberta laboratories no longer require further confirmation" from the Winnipeg-based National Microbiology Laboratory.By March 10, there were 7 new confirmed cases that brought the total to 14 in Alberta. One person had travelled on the same MS Braemar cruise ship in the Caribbean as case seven.
By March 11, there were 5 new cases, bringing the total to 19 confirmed cases in the province. At her daily briefing, Hinshaw drew attention to the World Health Organization's official declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic earlier on March 11.
On March 12, Hinshaw said that, faced with the "rapidly evolving global threat", the provincial government had adopted "aggressive new public health measures to limit the spread of this virus." The Emergency Management Cabinet Committee approved Hinshaw's "recommendation that all large gatherings of more than 250 people, or international events" in Alberta be cancelled. She made a number of recommendations regarding how to communicate with children about this virus.
In her response to the March 11 decision by the World Health Organization to "officially declare COVID-19 a global pandemic", Hinshaw said that this "reflects the seriousness" of COVID-19, which is "not like other threats we have seen in the past few decades. It is more severe than seasonal influenza, and more contagious than viruses like SARS." She said that the virus "can be contained" as was the case in "countries like Singapore. At that time, people who had confirmed COVID-19 cases in Alberta, had recently returned from trips to "Iran, Egypt, Spain, Washington state and Mexico." As a result, the province requested that "all travellers returning from Italy" self-isolate for two weeks. As well, airports in Calgary and Edmonton would begin screening starting on March 14.
On March 12, 2020, Alberta announced a ban on all meetings of more than 250 people. As of March 12, all those who have travelled outside Canada "must self-isolate for 14 days and monitor for symptoms." Alberta Health launched an online assessment tool on March 13. If the user answers yes to certain questions, they are prompted to call 911 emergency services, 811 to speak with a nurse, or they were be told that a test is not necessary.
By the late evening of March 12, the University of Calgary suspended lectures for the following day, March 13. By March 16, the university closure was made permanent for the remainder of the semester, with the university moving to deliver course content online.
On March 13, Health Minister Tyler Shandro said that Alberta's Health Link had been "receiving more than 6,300 calls a day." The province had "doubled 811 staff" and more were in training but the wait times were long. By March 13, 2803 tests had been administered in Alberta. By March 13, there were numerous closures and cancellations across the province. including some Alberta Court of Queen's Bench jury trials.
March 15–21
By March 15, Alberta had reported 56 cases, and had completed 10,524 tests. Hinshaw announced at her daily briefing that Alberta had its first cases of community transmission, which was at that time limited to seven people, six of whom attended the Pacific Dental Conference held from March 5 to 7 at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Cases of COVID-19 in Alberta, Ontario, and British Columbia have been identified with the conference, which had 15,000 attendees.Alberta ordered all daycares to close, all K-12 schools to suspend classes and close to students, and all post-secondary institutions to suspend in-person classes and switch to online classes on March 15. Grade 12 diploma exams will still occur.
Calgary's Mayor Naheed Nenshi on March 15, and Red Deer's Mayor Tara Veer on March 16, declared a State of Local Emergency in their cities. Nenshi ordered "ordered all city-owned and operated fitness facilities and pools, as well as public libraries, to close." and other facilities were restricted to 250 persons or 50 percent occupancy, with some exclusions, including grocery stores, shopping centres, big-box stores, casinos, pharmacies, airports, offices, public transit, and AHS facilities, shelters, and care centres. The director of the Calgary Emergency Management Agency, Tom Sampson, said Calgary residents would have basic services including water and power, public transit, and 911 for emergency services from fire, police and ambulance. The Calgary Emergency Management Agency has been providing regular "COVID-19 – State of Local Emergency impact" updates.
On March 16, the province of Alberta announced that "all kindergarten to Grade 12 classes and in-person post-secondary lectures" were suspended. At her daily briefing, Hinshaw said that she was self-isolating as she waited for the results of her test for COVID-19. This included not eating meals with family and keeping a distance of 2 metres away from family members until she had test results. She reported that with 18 new cases confirmed, Alberta had 74 cases.
On the evening of March 16, the Emergency Management Cabinet Committee authorized Premier Kenney to use "all powers necessary" to "keep Albertans safe".
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney declared a public health state of emergency under the Public Health Act on March 17, on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer. The province imposed specific "aggressive public health measures" which included "limiting mass gatherings", and prohibiting and limiting attendance at a number of public and private facilities.
By March 17, there were 23 new cases representing the "largest day-over-day increase yet in the province" resulting in total of 97 people in Alberta with the virus. Confirmed cases across the province include 20 in the Calgary zone, 20 in the Edmonton zone, 3 in the Central zone, 1 in the South zone, and 3 in the North zone.
Hinshaw's March 17 update said that five people that tested positive were hospitalized, two had been were admitted to the ICU, and the other 90 individuals were "self-isolating at home and expected to make a full recovery." She listed the province-wide "aggressive steps" that were taken to prevent the virus from spreading, which included limiting contact between people. She described how these steps were undertaken to "flatten the curve". "The more we can slow the spread of the virus down, the less likely it is that there will be a surge of cases that overwhelm our health system's capacity to care for those who need hospitalization or intensive care." She announced that Alberta Health Services was preparing for an "increase in the number of cases that need hospital care" so all scheduled and elective surgeries were postponed. She listed activities that would be prohibited under the state of emergency declared by Premier Kenney.
On March 18, Alberta reported 119 cases of people testing positive for COVID-19. On March 18, Hinshaw said that Alberta's "online self-assessment tool had been accessed more than 1.3 million times."
Alberta had performed about 15,000 tests, adding that, "To put that into perspective, when accounting for population size, that is 35 times higher than the per capita number of tests in the US."
Hinshaw said at her March 18 update, "We have had to weigh lives against livelihoods. And in order to save lives, I have had to make recommendations that will take away livelihoods from many Albertans over the next several weeks to months. There are no easy solutions to the situation we are in, not only in Alberta but around the world." Both Premier Kenney and Hinshaw said that Alberta "may not reach the peak of the current coronavirus pandemic for weeks, and that drastic measures to curb the spread of the virus may be needed until the end of May." Hinshaw said that "first wave of the outbreak could reach its peak in Alberta around mid-April" and that "officials expect another wave of the illness in the fall."
By March 19, doctors in Alberta were encouraged to practice "social distancing, including from their own clinics." Peace River physician, Dr. Heather Shonoski said that, "Family physicians have been begging" Tyler Shandro, Alberta's Minister of Health to allow them to "provide virtual care" to their patients" so that they could keep their "vulnerable patients at home and promote social distancing."
On March 19, Hinshaw announced the first death in Alberta in the Edmonton zone, along with 27 new confirmed cases bringing the total to 146. By March 19 Alberta labs had performed 16,867 tests. Hinshaw said that eight cases are suspected to be spread through community transmission. She said that the recovery of two patients from their symptoms, was a "sign of hope that many people who get this do recover."
By March 20, there were 49 new confirmed cases making a total of 195 confirmed cases identified in Alberta. Hishaw said that 11 of these "may be community transmission". As of March 20, 3 individuals had recovered, 10 were hospitalized. Three more patients were admitted to the ICU since March 19, for a total of 5 being treated in the ICU. Hinshaw said that, "World-wide, Alberta has been conducting among the highest number of tests per capita." By March 20, Alberta labs had conducted 20,165 tests.
On March 21, 31 new cases with a total of 226 cases and of those 16 are suspected of being shared by community transmission. Of the 11 people hospitalized, 6 are in ICU. The update called for vigilance of "online or phone scams" and reminded Albertans that neither Alberta Health or Alberta Health Services would call and ask for "social insurance numbers or banking information". By March 21, Alberta labs had conducted 23,516 tests. By March 21, Big-box stores, such as Home Depot Canada had sent notices that they would be "limiting the number of customers inside at a time".
March 22–30
By March 22, the total number of tests conducted was 26,740, the total number of cases was 259, with the addition of 33 new cases on March 22.There were 301 confirmed cases announced at the March 23 briefing. There were 42 new cases.
By March 24, a second person had died. By March 24, of the tests conducted to date, 32,418 were negative and 358 were positive. There were 57 new cases confirmed.
On March 24, Alberta Health Services changed their approach to testing, to focus on "groups at highest risk of local exposure." People returning from travel abroad after March 10, were advised to self-isolate for 14 days.
At their March 25 briefing Premier Kenney and Minister Shandro announced that Peace Officers would be enforcing rules related to "self-isolation and physical distancing." Hinshaw said that the "significant case numbers"—which included 61 new cases, of which 33 were believed to be by community transmission, 20 patients hospitalized, and 8 in ICU—"underscore the seriousness of the situation that we face."
On March 29 there were 40 new cases representing the smallest daily increase in Alberta since March 21, compared to March 28 with 79 new cases, the highest daily number to date. On March 30, Hinshaw stated that testing has been reduced the previous two days, as they are no longer automatically testing returning travellers, and there were shortages of lab supplies which should be rectified by the end of the week.
University of Calgary academics, Tyler Williamson and Christopher Naugler are "frequently producing models...which they're sending to government health officials to give the best information available about where the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to lead Alberta." Williamson, who is an assistant professor of biostatistics in community health sciences department, says that "Alberta is currently on a "middle-of-the-road" trajectory, likely to avoid a worst-case scenario of Italy but also unlikely to achieve the dramatic success achieved in Singapore, where stringent social distancing measures were imposed early." Naugler, who is associate dean at the Cumming School of Medicine, says that Alberta "may buck the trend on deaths" as "Alberta has a low mortality rate, with nine deaths to date, as well as a low rate of admission to intensive-care units". Naugler "hypothesizes this may be because of the province's relatively young demographic, low smoking rate or robust health-care system."
April
On April 6, echoing recent guidance by the federal government, Hinshaw recommended the wearing non-medical face masks in public by people who expect to go into situations where it is difficult to maintain the required physical distance from others, citing that it could help to slow spread by those who are asymptomatic. Premier Kenney noted that Alberta presently has about a one-month supply of the technical N95 masks and an adequate supply of procedural masks. The government is continuously obtaining additional supplies from both international and domestic suppliers. He stated that the government will be obtaining a large supply of non-medical masks for future use by the public.On April 7, Alberta Health Services published models projecting that in the "most probable" scenario, the peak number of cases will occur in mid-May, with around 800,000 total cases and 400 to 3,100 total deaths, and that if measures had not been taken, Alberta would have seen as many as 1.6 million cases and around 32,000 deaths.
On April 11, Shandro announced that Alberta had sufficient beds and personal protective equipment to meet the province's projected demand, and that it would provide shipments of personal protective equipment to British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, as well as 50 ventilators for Ontario.
On April 15, Premier Kenney announced an additional $53 million in mental health funding will be made available for programmes and services to help Albertans cope with mental health and addiction issues that have arisen as a result of the pandemic. Also on April 15, Dr Hinshaw noted that the criteria for testing has been expanded to include more potential cases, which has resulted in an increase in daily positive test results. Much of the daily data was missing for April 15 and 16 due to a small electrical fire at the data centre, leading to skewed results for those dates as well as April 17, when normal reporting resumed.
On April 17, Alberta Health Services took over operations of the Manoir du Lac continuing care facility in McLennan. Hinshaw reported that the measure was necessary due to staff shortages, inadequate care of residents, inadequate screening of staff and visitors, and incorrect use of personal protective equipment. the facility has had 26 people test positive for COVID-19 and 5 residents have died.
On April 20, Cargill closed its High River beef processing plant because the operation was part of a significant cluster of 1,560 cases as of May 5, 2020. All 2,100 employees were tested, out of which 946 employees tested positive. The Alberta Occupational health and safety launched an investigation into conditions at the Cargill meat-packing plant in High River, and 96 cases at a JBS plant in Brooks.
June
On June 15, the provincial state of emergency ended. On June 16, the province reported 35 new cases and 449 active cases. A petition by Albertan doctors calling on government officials to make wearing a mask mandatory in indoor public spaces was circulating.July
Government response
On March 11, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a $1 billion fund in response to the pandemic. This included $500 million for the provinces and territories. There was also a $50 million contribution to the World Health Organization. There was $275 million for funding Coronavirus research in Canada. On March 18, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an "historic" $82-billion "emergency support package for workers, employers, parents, students, Indigenous communities and other groups" to help those affected by the economic fallout" of the pandemic. On January 15, the federal government activated its Emergency Operations Centre, and on February 27, the response plan was raised to level 3. Federal Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu, announced Health Canada's Interim Order to speed up access to Switzerland-based COVID-19 test kits, so provincial labs could increase testing.On the same day, Premier Kenney announced financial measures the province was undertaking to alleviate the economic burden on Albertans. This included deferral of utility payments, ceasing of collection of corporate income taxes, a "six-month moratorium on student loans", and an emergency isolation support package.
Alberta undertook a "new aggressive measure" on March 12 to fight the virus which included banning all large gatherings of more than 250 people. The province-wide ban also recommended against international travel, and requested that any Albertans returning from international travel self-isolate for fourteen days. The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench postponed all jury trials scheduled to begin after March 13. Jury trials which were already in process, would continue. Premier Kenney declared a state of public health emergency on March 17. On March 28, Premier Kenney announced major new measures to slow the spread of the virus, which included suspending vehicle access to provincial parks by closing parking lots, and closing all but a limited number of essential businesses. The Premier also announced protection for renters.
On April 23, Hinshaw announced that the restriction on gatherings of more than 15 people applies to all summer events and festivals, and that residents "are prohibited from attending any event that would violate these orders." Hinshaw stated that although cases were trending downward, COVID-19 "spreads rapidly through social interactions", it would be "with us for many months to come", and that they did not want to risk any further super-spreader events.
On April 30, the Alberta government announced a plan to lift restrictions in several phases. Some medical services and outdoor recreational activities reopen in early May, while daycare centres, restaurants and some retail outlets will reopen at reduced capacity on May 14. The timing of the next phase will depend on whether or not the first phase results in an increase in virus cases.
On May 29, the Alberta government announced partnerships with fast food chains A&W, McDonald's, and Tim Hortons to distribute complimentary non-medical face masks to drive-thru customers.
Testing
By March 8, Alberta's public health laboratory was performing 1,000 a day and by March 26, they were conducting 3,000 a day. The total number of tests performed reached 20,165 by March 20, which represented among the "highest number of tests per capita" in the world. As of April 21, 109,015 tests had been conducted and 3,095 cases were confirmed.On March 24, following the example of other Canadian provinces, the AHS shifted priorities towards testing "groups at highest risk of local exposure". Under the new guidelines, "travellers who returned to Alberta after March 12" with mild symptoms would no longer be tested for COVID-19. Under the new testing protocol, there are four groups of people who will have priority for testing: those who "are hospitalized with respiratory illness"; "residents of continuing care and other similar facilities"; people "who returned from travelling abroad between March 8 and March 12"; and "health-care workers with respiratory symptoms." Hinshaw said, "Our new approach reflects the fact that the most important thing anyone can do if they have mild symptoms isn’t to get tested – it’s to stay home and self-isolate."
Health Link nurses had been referring people with COVID-19 symptoms to one of a number of drive-thru assessment centres for testing.
Travel and entry restrictions
Under federal travel restrictions implemented March 18, Calgary International Airport is one of only four Canadian airports currently accepting international flights from outside the Caribbean, Mexico, and the United States. Travellers arriving at Calgary international arrival gates are met with Alberta health officials who are "reinforcing a message of mandatory" 14 days self-isolation to returning travelers.Economic impact
On March 14, the chief economist of Alberta Central, a banking facility for the province's credit unions, said that because of the pandemic and the low oil price, they expect that the provincial economy will contract by 1.5% in 2020, with 25,000 jobs lost.Other reactions
School closures
Premier Kenney announced school closures on March 15. All daycares were closed. Classes were suspended for K-12 schools but schools were not closed. According to a March 20 Alberta Teachers Association notification, teachers were still required to work, either from home if the school board permits, or in their schools. Post-secondary institutions switched to online classes and all in-person classes were suspended. With schools and daycares closed, and parents needing childcare, a hundred University of Alberta medical students offered to provide childcare to doctors and other COVID-19 front-line health-care workers.By the evening of March 12, the University of Calgary notified students that it was suspending lectures effective the following day. Effective April 2, access to any campus facilities was closed off, except for electronic/keycard access to authorized staff and students.
By March 21, the University of Alberta notified students living on campus, that they had to leave their residences by March 24, with exemptions for "international students and people from out of province or in isolation." In Calgary, the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology told students they had until March 23 to leave.
Sports
The National Hockey League season was suspended, affecting the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. The Western Hockey League and Canadian Hockey League scrapped the remainder of its season on March 23. The NHL has pursued the completion of the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs using two centralized locations; Rogers Centre in Edmonton has been considered a front-runner due to its high-quality facilities and ease of access to nearby hotels and facilities while maintaining a restricted "bubble", and the relatively lower case count in Canada at the present in comparison to the United States.The 2020 Calgary Stampede was cancelled on April 23, in its first cancellation in nearly a century.
Transmission
Virus transmission can be travel-related, close contact cases or can be community-transmitted. By March 31, there were 286 cases known to have been spread through travel. Hinshaw reported in the last week in March that returning travellers were obligated to self-quarantine for 14 days. The province shifted testing priorities and was no longer testing returned travelers, so this number is not expected to rise. By the end of March there were 297 cases that had been "spread through close contact with an infected individual or object."About 72 people attended a curling bonspiel held at the Granite Curling Club in Edmonton from March 11 to 14 and by March 27, at least 24 medical professionals, who participated had tested positive for COVID-19. Health officials believe that a doctor from Saskatchewan who had been to Las Vegas before attending the Edmonton event, was the bonspiel's patient zero. There was a banquet at the event, and health officials suspect that serving spoons, which many people handled, were the source of spreading the virus.
By March 25, 34 cases were linked to a "super spreader" event, a March 6 prayer meeting held at a private home in Calgary's Upper northwest zone, with a pastor from Singapore as the featured guest.
Community transmission
Community transmission, refers to cases where Alberta Health Service investigators "could not identify an obvious source of the virus." Alberta's first case of community transmission was announced on March 15, and by March 26, there were 34 cases of the virus, suspected to have been spread by community transmission.By March 31, the number of community-transmitted cases had increased to 75—which was double the number from the previous week. The number of community-transmitted cases serves as a significant indicator of the success or failure of social distancing.
Outbreaks
By March 30, there were 36 residents of the McKenzie Towne care home and five staff members that were "probable or confirmed cases". By March 31, Alberta Health was also tracking outbreaks in Calgary's Carewest Glenmore Park Centre and Shepherd's Care Kensington in the Edmonton Zone. Hinshaw described these outbreaks as "worrisome".On April 15, 2020, multiple cases tied to the Kearl Oil Sands Project were announced, reaching 20 by April 20. This prompted advisories from health authorities in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. A major outbreak of cases in northwest Saskatchewan was attributed to cases imported from Kearl.
The town of High River had 164 cases and one death as of April 17, with some of the patients being employees of the Cargill meat packing plant. The plant continued at a reduced capacity, but no layoffs had occurred as of April 17. As of April 17, there were 358 cases linked to the plant, accounting for 15% of the province's cases. United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union Local 401 lobbied unsuccessfully for the plant's closure since the point at which health authorities were aware of 38 cases linked to the facility. On April 20, Cargill temporarily closed the facility after a total of 484 cases were confirmed.
In July, an outbreak emerged in Warner, Alberta—
Statistics
Statistics are provided in daily reports by the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Deena Hinshaw, and posted on the Government of Alberta's website. As of April 25, there were 226 new cases, making a total of 4,223 confirmed cases. As of April 25, 184 patients have been hospitalized, and 47 have spent time in the ICU, and 73 people have died since the beginning of the pandemic in Alberta. As of April 20, 540 cases were suspected of being spread by community transmission and 1,230 people had recovered.
Geographic distribution of cases
The Alberta government maintains a geospatial tracker, which provides more specific geographic data, such as active cases per city region, city, or county.Official sites
- Alberta Provincial Government
- Calgary
- Edmonton
- Lethbridge
- Medicine Hat