Alberta to end pandemic rules including mandatory isolation
All remaining COVID-19 public health restrictions in Alberta will be lifted Tuesday at 11:59 p.m., including mandatory isolation requirements.
According to the province, Alberta will enter Step 3, the last stage of the reopening plan, that will end mandatory isolation and masking on public transit. The change was announced Monday evening by a government news release.
Isolation for anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or who has tested positive will only be recommended by the province.
Mandatory masking rules at Alberta Health Services and other health-care facilities will now be determined by individual sites.
"We need to live with COVID-19 while accepting that it will continue to be present," said Jason Copping, minister of health.
"We’ll continue to work to keep Albertans safe by ensuring access to vaccines, antivirals and rapid tests, through ongoing COVID-19 surveillance, and by enhancing health-care system capacity."
According to the province, PCR test positivity and wastewater surveillance data indicate a trend of "declining COVID-19 transmission."
Hospitalization rates have declined since their peak on April 26, the province says, when admissions to hospitals in Alberta for COVID-19 were at 20.7 per day per million population. As of last week, that figure was at 6.6 per day per million population.
The province says it is preparing for the fall and winter respiratory virus season, including maintaining testing and surveillance programs while preparing to expand hospital surge capacity.
In a statement, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said learning to live with COVID-19 does not mean forgetting about it.
"As we bring COVID-19 management in line with other respiratory diseases, it will continue to be vital that we receive our primary vaccine series and any additional booster doses we are eligible for, and continue good habits like washing our hands regularly and avoiding being around others if we feel sick," she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Slovakia's prime minister injured in shooting
Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon and taken to hospital.
B.C. mom whose son died from wildfire smoke trying to make this year safer
As wildfires rage in British Columbia, the family of a nine-year-old who died last summer is trying to protect people from poor air quality due to smoke this year.
'Not a scarient': New COVID-19 subvariant dominant in Canada
A new COVID-19 subvariant is dominant in Canada, representing just over 30 per cent of cases in the country, but infectious disease experts say there’s no sign it’ll evolve into a summer 'scarient.'
DEVELOPING Massive manhunt in France for prison-break gang that gunned down officers
A massive manhunt was underway in France on Wednesday for armed assailants who ambushed a prison convoy, killing two prison officers, seriously injuring three others and springing the inmate they were escorting. The prime minister vowed the gang would be caught, saying, "They will pay."
Home sales in April up 10% compared with year ago, but monthly sales slow
The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of home sales in April rose 10.1 per cent compared with a year ago, but attributed the gain primarily to the early Easter long weekend.
Ottawa to acquire Quebec Bridge from CN, will spend $1 billion on span over 25 years
The federal government says it has reached a deal with Canadian National Railway Company to acquire the historic Quebec Bridge.
Growing wildfires across Western Canada are forcing thousands from their homes
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
Sun shoots out biggest solar flare in almost 2 decades, but Earth should be out of the way this time
The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummelled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places.
Wildfire smoke forecast: Poor air quality in Western Canada, haze in Ontario and Quebec
Wildfires continue to impact air quality across Western Canada, with conditions expected to worsen on Wednesday before improving.