COCHRANE— New provincial health measures have been enacted by the Province of Alberta to help lower the spread of COVID-19.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney introduced the additional new health care regulations Tuesday (Dec. 8), explaining the intent was to bend down the curve of COVID-19 spread in the province.
“We know that if we allow viral spread at current growth rates we will eventually run out of hospital capacity. That is not an opinion that is a fact,” Kenney said. “If stronger action is not taken now we know that hundred or potentially thousands more Albertans could die. We cannot let that happen. We will not let that happen.”
On Tuesday, the Town of Cochrane saw a slight decline in COVID-19 numbers dropping from 67 active cases to 66. To date, there have been 160 cases in town and 94 people have recovered.
In Alberta, 1,727 new cases have been identified in the last 24-hours and 19,000 tests have been completed.
There are currently 654 patients in the hospital due to the virus, including 112 patients in intensive care units.
An additional nine COVID-19 related deaths have been reported. In total 631 Albertans have died due to the virus.
New health measures beginning on Tuesday include a prohibition on all indoor and outdoor social gatherings, both public and private. Close contacts are limited to household members only. Individuals who live alone are allowed up to two close contacts for in-person visiting.
Mandatory masks will be required in indoor public spaces across the province beginning Tuesday and will apply to all indoor workplaces and facilities outside the home.
Beginning on Sunday (Dec. 13) retail services will be required to reduce customer capacity to 15 per cent of the fire code occupancy, with a minimum of five customers permitted. All restaurants, bars, pubs, lounges and cafes will be closed to in-person services. Casinos, recreational facilities, entertainment businesses and entities and personal and wellness services will be closed as well.
As part of the restrictions all places of worship will be limited to 15 per cent of fire code occupancy for in-person attendance starting on Sunday.
A work from home order has been implemented and will be activated on Sunday. Employees will be required to work from home unless an employer determines that work requires a physical presence for operational effectiveness.
“These are decisions that we have arrived at not as a first resort, but as a last resort to protect lives and to preserve our health care system,” Kenney said.
Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said these new public health measures mark the most significant restrictions that have been introduced in the province to date.
The ultimate goal of these measures is to restrict the number of close contacts people have with each other, limiting the spread of COVID-19.
"I think that this comprehensive measure that is going into place today across the province really emphasizes that when we all work together, we all follow these restrictions we can bring the numbers down," Hinshaw said. "The target is not zero COVID cases, but we must get our cases low enough that we are not going be putting the health care system at risk."
The newly introduced public health measures will be in effect for at least four weeks.
