Kenney asks Calgarians not to host friends, but city dodges formal COVID-19 restrictions as 609 new cases added
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The provincial government is making a “strong request” to people in Calgary and Edmonton to stop hosting social gatherings at their homes as COVID-19 cases surge in the two cities.
Premier Jason Kenney said the measure was voluntary but vital to bending the curve of the novel coronavirus pandemic in Alberta, where 802 cases were detected Wednesday and 609 infections were found Thursday.
“We’re not going to be sending out police to monitor this,” Kenney said. “This is appealing to people to use personal responsibility.
“We are seeing that informal social gatherings with family and friends are a major driver in spreading COVID-19.”
About 40 per cent of active cases in both Calgary and Edmonton were exposed in their households or through gatherings, Kenney said, and seven per cent of Calgarians with active infections attended a social function while symptomatic.
The premier also announced Alberta is expanding the 15-person cap on social events to all parts of the province currently under COVID-19 watch, meaning they have more than 50 active cases per 100,000 residents.
The restriction applies to social events like parties, baby showers, weddings and funeral receptions and banquets, but gatherings like wedding and funeral ceremonies are not impacted. The policy was previously enacted in both Calgary and Edmonton.
More stringent measures will be necessary if cases don’t drop in the coming weeks, Kenney said.
During the press conference, the premier forcefully rejected the notion of a second “lockdown” in order to reduce the COVID-19 case count.
He invoked arguments around civil liberties when rebuking the idea of a lockdown and downplayed the impact of the coronavirus, saying it was on pace to be the 11th-leading cause of death in Alberta in 2020.
“A lockdown constitutes a massive invasion of the exercise of people’s fundamental rights and a massive impact on not only their personal liberties, but their ability to put food on the table, to sustain themselves financially. That has huge downstream effects,” Kenney said.
The premier added Alberta can “continue to lead the way as the freest province in the country” if restrictions are followed.
Alberta NDP Opposition Leader Rachel Notley said Kenney was continuing to reject straightforward public-health measures that could curb the spread of COVID-19.
She said her party doesn’t want a full lockdown but wants more to be done to avoid a situation in which a lockdown is the only option. She said paid sick leave policy and additional modelling of the pandemic’s second wave are extra steps the government could be taking.
“Jason Kenney is responsible for where we are today,” Notley said. “While I deplore the actions of the premier that have led us to this point, I do strongly urge all Albertans to take the directions of (chief medical officer of health) Dr. (Deena) Hinshaw, especially those that she gave today.
“Lives are at stake and we must all be work hard to protect the lives of our families, our friends and our neighbours.”
To date, 352 Albertans have died from COVID-19, an increase of nine deaths from Wednesday, the last day data was provided.
There are now 171 Albertans in hospital with the virus, including 33 in intensive-care units, the most ever concurrent admissions for Alberta. Kenney said projections indicate as many as 293 Albertans could be in hospital with COVID-19 in two weeks if measures are not taken.
Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said outbreaks in places like continuing-care centres, hospitals and schools is a product of infections in the community. She asked Albertans to take whatever steps they can to reduce opportunities for transmission.
“For those whose wedding receptions, family gatherings or birthday parties may be impacted, I am sorry for the challenge this change will bring,” she said.
“It is critical, however, that we bring these numbers down to protect our health systems and our communities.”
There are now 6,822 active COVID-19 cases in Alberta, with the AHS Calgary and Edmonton zones each home to just over 40 per cent of the active infections. Friday marks the first time since Sept. 9 there are more active cases in the Calgary zone than the Edmonton zone.
Hinshaw said Alberta would resume reporting of COVID-19 on weekends, a practice the province put on pause in July. She is next scheduled to address Albertans Monday.
jherring@postmedia.com
Twitter: @jasonfherring