COVID-19 Live Updates: News on coronavirus in Calgary for March 24

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With news on COVID-19 happening rapidly, we’ve created this page to bring you our latest stories and information on the outbreak in and around Calgary.

What’s happening now

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My COVID Story: How have you been impacted by coronavirus?

Postmedia is looking to speak with people who may have been impacted by COVID-19 here in Alberta.  Have you undergone a travel-related quarantine? Have you received your vaccine, and if so did you feel any side effects? Have you changed your life for the better because of the pandemic? Send us an email at reply@calgaryherald.com to tell us your experience, or send us a message via this form.

Read our ongoing coverage of personal stories arising from the pandemic.

Pharmacies in and around Calgary offering COVID-19 vaccine

This map shows 53 pharmacies in Calgary, Chestermere and Airdrie offering the COVID-19 vaccine. More locations will be added in the coming days, according to the provincial government. Appointments are still required and can be booked by contacting the participating pharmacies. Details on eligibility and booking can be found here.

692 new cases, two deaths

Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw delivered an update on COVID-19 in the province on Wednesday afternoon.

• 692 new cases on ~12,800 tests; 5.3% positivity rate
• 285 in hospitals; 53 in ICUs
• Two deaths
• 202 new variant cases; variants are 19% of active cases
• The first community-acquired cases of the P1 variant first identified in Brazil have been found; two were reported yesterday
• Active alerts or outbreaks in 363 schools; 1,550 cases in these schools since Jan. 11

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Watch the full livestream below.

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Braid: In face of E.U. export bans, Canada’s mediocrity may keep vaccine shipments coming

Columnist Don Braid writes:

Canada’s vaccine supply depends entirely on “the kindness of strangers,” to misuse the great line from the Tennessee Williams play.

There is no single COVID-19 vaccine dose that isn’t made and shipped from somewhere else, mostly Europe. And vaccine nationalism is intensifying there.

On Thursday the European Union is expected to decide on new measures that could potentially block exports.

Canada is not on the E.U. list of more than 100 countries officially exempted from export bans. This doesn’t mean Canada will be deprived, but certainly suggests it’s possible.

Read more.

Traveller allegedly produced fake COVID test result at Pearson airport

A 45-year-old man has been charged for allegedly presenting a phony COVID-19 document after landing on an international flight at Toronto Pearson Airport over the weekend.

Peel Regional Police say officers were called in to assist the Canada Border Services Agency around 4 p.m. on Sunday after the traveller’s COVID-19 test result document was flagged.

The Edmonton man was arrested and charged with unlawfully knowingly using a forged document.

Read more.

Alberta reaches the half-million mark on doses administered

Health Minister Tyler Shandro said Alberta has now administered 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, meaning one-in-10 albertans has had at least one dose.

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“Alberta’s vaccine rollout keeps getting bigger and better,” said Shandro in a written statement. “More than 146,400 doses were administered during the last week, including more than 27,600 reported on March 21 alone.”

“Despite setbacks from the federal government, we are getting vaccines in the arms of Albertans as quickly and safely as possible. We are more than doubling the number of pharmacies offering vaccinations, with hundreds more participating, along with community physicians, in the coming weeks.”

Alberta has said everyone who wants the vaccine will get at least one does by the end of June. No vaccine has yet been approved for children.

WestJet to resume its pre-COVID Canadian network by late June

WestJet announced Wednesday it will resume flights to five eastern locations this summer after pausing service due to COVID-19.

Flights to Charlottetown, Fredericton, Moncton, Sydney and Quebec City will begin again on June 24. The company had pressed pause on those flights in November of last year.

Also, flights between St. John’s and Halifax will resume on May 6, and flights between St. John’s and Toronto will resume on June 24.

The return of service to those locations by late June will restore the airline’s full network of pre-COVID-19 airports in Canada, it said.

In February, WestJet also temporarily halted flights to Lloydminster, Medicine Hat and London, Ont. with a promise to restart those services on June 24. Customers can book flights to those cities as of June 24 on the WestJet website.

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Earlier this year, WestJet CEO Ed Simms said the company’s flight volumes were down 90 per cent year-over-year because of reduced demand for travel due to COVID-19.

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COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in Alberta

Tuesday

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Tuesday

Alberta expands rapid testing program as province reports 197 new variant cases

Alberta’s rapid testing program is expanding to include businesses, not-for-profits and service providers as the government looks to distribute about two million rapid tests to employers.

The expansion of rapid testing will offer workers peace of mind and help slow the spread of COVID-19 in workplaces, Jim Dewald, dean of the Haskayne School of Business, explained Tuesday. Haskayne has participated in a national pilot program that’s tested rapid screening with 12 large Canadian companies, like Suncor and Scotiabank.

“It’s given their staff a much higher level of confidence. It’s a morale booster because workers know the company is concerned about their health and they feel more comfortable that they aren’t unknowingly spreading the virus,” said Dewald.

The rapid testing kits help to identify pre-symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals so they can isolate themselves earlier and prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus.

Read more.

Tuesday

465 new cases, three deaths

Alberta’s latest COVID-19 numbers were delayed by a technical issue. There was no live update on Tuesday afternoon from chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw.

The latest numbers:

• 465 new cases on 7,328 tests; 6.6% positivity rate
• 290 in hospital; 53 in ICUs
• Three deaths; 1,971 deaths
• 6,231 active cases; 134,653 recovered
• 197 new variant cases

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Tuesday

Braid: Government gets cap on pay but doctors’ vote on deal in doubt

Columnist Don Braid writes:

The government and the Alberta Medical Association have agreed to the figure, but there’s no guarantee the majority of AMA members will approve.

The stakes are enormous here. Rejection of the deal by doctors would again throw the whole system into the kind of bitter conflict we saw in 2020, after the government unilaterally scrapped the existing compensation agreement.

Read more.

Tuesday

Government officials mum on what further steps can be taken on church that has continuously defied public health orders

Various levels of government are remaining coy over what steps might next be considered to enforce public health orders after fines, charges and even jail time have had little deterrence on large gatherings at a church’s services west of Edmonton.

GraceLife Church’s membership has continued to gather for Sunday services despite RCMP officers and Alberta Health Services inspectors appearing each week to ensure public health measures aimed at stemming the spread of COVID-19 are followed. RCMP has issued several releases saying those measures were not followed while they were on scene.

Read more.

Tuesday

Only 1.5% of air travellers tested positive for COVID-19: Health Canada

Only a small percentage of travellers entering Canada since the end of February tested positive for COVID-19.

Health Canada data obtained by the Toronto Sun on Tuesday shows that 640 of the 44,089 travellers who arrived in Canada by air between Feb. 22 and March 15 tested positive for COVID-19.

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Read more.

Tuesday

Hinshaw says shipment delay should not affect current vaccine appointments

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Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Tuesday that there has been a delay in picking up Moderna vaccine shipments from Belgium, but this won’t affect people who have already booked their appointments.

“While delays are disappointing, this should not impact any existing bookings,” wrote HInshaw in a tweet. “Some pharmacies have been cancelling or re-booking appointments because of last week’s delay in Moderna vaccine. But these two are unrelated.”

She said while delays are frustrating, shipments continue to roll in and the province anticipates having a first shot for everyone by the end of June.

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