Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Health Minister Tyler Shandro and president and CEO of Alberta Health Services Dr. Verna Yiu are scheduled to provide an update on the COVID-19 situation in the province on Wednesday evening.
They’re scheduled to speak at 6 p.m. and the news conference will be streamed live in this post. You can also watch the news conference live on Global News Hour at 6.
COVID-19 cases have been surging in Alberta since mid-summer and ICU admissions set a record on Tuesday, with 212 Albertans receiving care for the virus.
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Alberta doctors, chambers of commerce push for COVID-19 vaccine passport
Alberta confirmed 1,434 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday out of about 11,900 tests, bringing the total of active cases to 18,265. There were 822 people in hospital.
On Monday, 65 infectious diseases physicians from across Alberta called for immediate province-wide restrictions of access to indoor non-essential businesses and services for people who not immunized against COVID-19.
“We, Alberta’s infectious diseases physicians, are writing to convey our gravest concerns about the safety of the province’s current COVID-19 approach, and to request immediate province-wide restricted access for unimmunized individuals to public indoor spaces for the purpose of accessing non-essential services,” the letter reads.
Vaccination cards to be available for Albertans to print off this week
The doctors said they don’t believe the current measures “go nearly far enough to interrupt transmission.”
On Sept. 3, Kenney announced a province-wide mask mandate, a 10 p.m. liquor cutoff for licensed businesses and a $100 incentive for anyone who hadn’t received their first or second dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The province also “strongly recommended” anyone who wasn’t vaccinated limit their close contacts.
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Alberta’s top doctor says ‘Open for Summer’ plan set stage for 4th wave of COVID-19
On Tuesday, the province announced printable proof-of-vaccination cards would be available starting on Thursday.
“We continue to make it easier for Albertans to securely access their health information, including immunization records, in the palm of their hand any time and anywhere through MyHealth Records,” Health Minister Tyler Shandro said in a news release.
“More Albertans are signing up for this tool every day to access their health information, and if you haven’t done so already, I encourage you to sign up now.”
This story will be updated after the news conference.
– with files from Caley Ramsay and Emily Mertz, Global News