ALBERTA— Minister of Health Tyler Shandro announced Monday (March 22) the province will not be moving to Step Three of the Alberta Path Forward Plan and no easement of COVID-19 health measures will take place.
Shandro cited rising COVID-related hospitalizations, increasing new case numbers and a spike in the testing positivity rate as the reasons behind the decision.
“We saw in November as well as December what can happen if things get out of control and just how quickly that can happen,” Shandro said.
In Cochrane as of the end of the day Sunday (March 21) there were a reported 23 active cases of COVID-19. To date, 382 cases of the virus have been identified in the town— Two people have died and 357 people have recovered.
Four schools in the region are reporting multiple cases of COVID-19. Bow Valley High School is reporting an outbreak of 10 or more cases of the virus, Cochrane High School is on alert for a reported two to four cases of COVID-19, Fireside School is on alert for two to four cases of the virus and Elizabeth Barrett Elementary School is on alert for two to four cases COVID-19.
In the past 24 hours, the province identified 456 new cases of COVID-19 after completing more than 7,500 tests. Included in these cases are 110 new cases of the variants of concern, representing 16 per cent of active cases.
The provincial testing positivity rate sits at 6.1 per cent.
There are 280 COVID-related hospitalizations in Alberta, including 48 people in intensive care units. Shandro noted almost half of those hospitalized and 88 per cent of ICU admissions are people who are 65 years old or younger.
He added the province has seen seven days in a row of hospitalizations increasing.
The province reported five new deaths in the last 24 hours. To date, 1,968 Albertans have died.
Step Three of Alberta's Path Forward Plan will see relaxations and changes to rules for gatherings at places of worship, adult and youth sports, indoor and outdoor gatherings, indoor seated events including movie theatres, casinos, libraries, museums, art galleries and zoos.
Step Three of the plan will only be considered when hospitalization for COVID-19 in the province are under 300 and declining.
“This is a problem and warning sign that we must take seriously,” Shandro said. “There will be no easing of any restrictions at this time. This is the safe move— This is the smart move to make for our province.”
It was necessary to delay Step Three of easements, Shandro said, to help avoid a third wave of COVID-19 in Alberta that has the potential to increase pressure on the health care system and the risk of further deaths in the province.
He added it would be unfair to ease restrictions only to put them back in place.
The province will begin to ease health measures when it is safe to do so, he said. If there is a need to impose further COVID-19 public health measures they will base based on where and how the virus is being spread.
Shandro implored Albertans to continue following public health measures to help slow the spread of the virus.
Vaccines are the key part to easing restrictions, Shandro said, and will be critical for Albertans to sign up for their shot when it is possible. As greater immunity is achieved in the population it will be possible to see a further easement of COVID-19 public health measures.
To date,487,493 doses of vaccine have been administered and more than 70,000 vaccine visits are booked for this week.
There are currently 6,176 active cases of COVID-19 in Alberta.
