Edmonton mayor can 'virtually guarantee' masking bylaw will be lifted before the end of the year
Edmonton’s mayor is sharing insight into when the city’s face covering bylaw could be repealed.
Before the mask bylaw can be fully lifted, Don Iveson said “an abundance of caution is required” to not jeopardize the reopening.
During a media scrum, Iveson said recent data suggests Alberta could be at 50 per cent second dose coverage by the middle of July, but Edmonton doctors have requested the province wait until 70 per cent of Albertans are fully immunized before lifting health measures.
“I’m trying to get to the bottom of what would be a sensible and reasonable place to say, ‘OK, we’ve got enough protection from the second dose.’”
Iveson said he wants to err on the side of caution, and will make an evidence-based decision with council in the coming months.
“The last thing we want is to get cavalier and wind up in a situation where these struggling small businesses are forced to shut down again in a fourth wave driven by the Delta variant,” Iveson explained.
“I want to avoid that, I think we all want to avoid that.”
The provincial masking order will be lifted when Alberta enters Stage 3 of the reopening plan, two weeks after 70 per cent of eligible Albertans have received their first dose of a vaccine.
During a press conference on Monday, Tyler Shandro, Alberta’s minister of health, said the province will continue to do their research in other jurisdictions to assess second dose protection against COVID-19 and the variants before no longer recommending masks.
“I think this is us moving from a pandemic to an endemic,” he said.
“As we move to greater community protection, we are going to continue to live with the virus in our community and we can do it while assessing our own risk profile as each individual Albertan."
“I can virtually guarantee that we will be in a state where we can lift the mask bylaw well before the end of the year,” Iveson said.
“It will come off sooner rather than later.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 mm among weather alerts in effect for 7 provinces
Rainfall warnings of up to 90 millimetres, air quality advisories and other alerts have been issued for seven Canadian provinces, according to the latest forecasts.
Tipping is off the table at this Toronto restaurant
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
A fight to protect the dignity of Michelangelo's David raises questions about freedom of expression
Michelangelo's David has been a towering figure in Italian culture since its completion in 1504. But in the current era of the quick buck, curators worry the marble statue's religious and political significance is being diminished.
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
China's latest EV is a 'connected' car from smart phone and electronics maker Xiaomi
Xiaomi, a well-known maker of smart consumer electronics in China, is joining the country's booming but crowded market for electric cars.