Alberta is battening down the hatches as the number of Covid-19 cases soars in the western Canadian province.
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney is restricting restaurants and bars to delivery or takeout and closing casinos and gyms in an effort to lower the incidence of Covid-19. He is also ordering the closure of recreation centres, libraries, theatres and personal service providers such as hair salons, barbers and nail bars.
The new Covid-19 measures go into effect on Sunday (December 13). Premier Kenney is also imposing a provincewide mask mandate in indoor public spaces, including workplaces, and is banning social gatherings of any size indoors or outside.
Alberta had been the only province without a sweeping mask rule. Premier Kenney had called it unworkable and unnecessary in remote areas and particularly punitive to farm people who already work in socially-distanced settings.
Kenney said retail stores and churches can remain open, but at 15% capacity. Outdoor skating rinks and ski hills may remain active also. Existing school rules will stay in place: all students in grades seven through 12 must learn at home while in-class learning continues for those in lower grades.
The measures are to remain in effect for at least four weeks. The new rules are similar to sweeping shutdown orders imposed by Kenney's government in the spring. On Tuesday of this week, Alberta reported more than 21,000 active cases with 654 people in hospital - 112 of them receiving intensive care. Daily death counts have been in the double digits for the last week.
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