Jason Kenney announced Alberta’s plan to begin relaxing COVID-19 restrictions Thursday, while another 109 cases of the disease were reported in Brooks.
Golf courses will be able to reopen as soon as this weekend, said Kenney, though the government press release stated Monday. Dental, physiotherapy and funeral services are among those pegged for Monday relaunch, while the first of three stages of the plan could allow restaurants, hair salons and museums to resume operations as soon as May 14 provided they obey some restrictions.
Screenshot of relaunch plan as shown during Thursday’s press conference
“We’re still months from anything that will feel like the normal lives that we all took for granted just a few weeks back,” said Kenney during his press conference. “COVID-19 will continue to threaten us for many months to come. But with care and with common sense, we’ll be able to move steadily and safely through the stages of our relaunch strategy and begin the process of rebuilding our wonderful province together.”
While the relaunch plan lays out potential positives amid the global pandemic, chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw warned the measures should not be taken as a sign to stop taking precautions such as social distancing. Increased testing in Brooks led to their total number of cases increasing to 872, with 333 of those at the JBS meat packing plant. Another 24 cases were marked as recovered, with that number up to 55.
Medicine Hat didn’t report any new cases (total 29), but two more recovered cases bring that total to 15.
Alberta now has 5,355 COVID-19 cases, with 190 confirmed in the last 24 hours. Three new deaths were reported and one previous death reclassified as not being attributable to COVID-19.
“Today is the beginning of our next phase of protecting each other,” said Hinshaw. “Public health officials will continue to advise government and work with these organizations to learn from past outbreaks and provide guidance with relation to specific practices as we progress through stages of the relaunch.”
Locally, the most immediate benefactors of the new strategy are golf clubs, most of which are ready to open as of this weekend. Paradise Valley co-owner Dawn Postnikoff, whose course had opened for three days last month, said via text message she’s hoping to be back in business Saturday.
“We are ready to go as soon as they give us formal go-ahead,” she wrote.
Kenney said Stage 1 can take place May 14 as long as some measures are in place, such as more overall testing, better contact-tracing technology and stronger border and airport controls. Businesses that could open under Stage 1 include farmers markets, hairdressers, daycares, restaurants, museums and summer camps, though gatherings of more than 15 people would still be banned and restaurants could have no more than 50 per cent capacity.
Some boat launches will be able to open Friday, May 1, with provincial parks opening June 1.
No firm dates were mentioned for the other two stages. Stage 2 includes reopening schools, more personal services such as tanning, and movie theatres. Stage 3 would include sporting events, festivals, nightclubs and conferences.
