Photo: Government of Alberta

By Shaun Penner

Economic relaunch

Stage two of Alberta’s relaunch to begin June 12

Jun 9, 2020 | 12:50 PM

Premier Jason Kenney announced that the entire province of Alberta will be entering stage two of its economic relaunch strategy beginning on Friday, June 12, a full week ahead of schedule.

With that, health services such as acupuncture and massage therapy will be allowed to re-open with restrictions. Other places that can open include personal services such as manicurists and pedicurists, as well as libraries and movie theatres with restrictions in place. K-12 schools can also re-open for diploma exams and summer schools.

Though initially part of stage three of the province’s relaunch, Kenney says gyms and fitness centres will also be allowed to re-open in stage two, which includes swimming pools and arenas. Team sports can also resume, with a maximum of 50 participants in a local ‘cohort’.

Casinos and bingo halls will also be allowed to re-open.

Some of the activities that will be allowed in Alberta beginning June 12 (Photo: Government of Alberta)

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Kenney, as well as chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw, cited three key factors that guided the province’s decision to move to stage two, which included low rates of hospitalization and ICU admissions, as well as low levels of active cases. As of June 8, 355 cases of COVID-19 are active in Alberta. Fourty-four people are in hospital.

“Albertans have demonstrated the care and common sense needed to move forward with our relaunch earlier than initially planned,” said Kenney “We will continue to move forward together to overcome any tough times ahead, but responsible Albertans should be proud of the vigilance they have shown to date.”

The province also announced that the 50 per cent capacity limit on provincial campgrounds has been lifted, meaning that by July 1 all campsites at provincial campgrounds will be available for reservation.

Capacity for both indoor and outdoor gatherings has also increased. Albertans in an indoor setting can now gather with up to 50 people, while outdoor events can now have up to 100 people, as long as physical distancing and public health mandates are followed.

There will also be no cap on the number of people at worship gatherings, restaurants, cafés, lounges and bars, casinos and bingo halls, but physical distancing restrictions will remain in place.

There will also be increased flexibility for ‘cohorts’ in the province, which are small groups of people that do not need to adhere to the two metres physical distance mandate. This includes household cohorts being able to now include up to 15 people and performers being allowed to have a cohort of up to 50 people.

Team sports, as mentioned above, can have a region-only cohort of up to 50 people who can participate.

“Everyone is encouraged to follow public health guidelines and notify others in the cohort(s) if they have symptoms or test positive for COVID-19. If they do test positive or have symptoms, mandatory isolation is required.”

The province has also provided a list of activities that are still not allowed under stage two. Those include:

• Social gatherings that exceed above listed maximums
• Regular in-school classes for kindergarten to Grade 12. Classes will resume September 2020
• Vocal concerts (as singing carries a higher risk of transmission)
• Major festivals and concerts, large conferences, trade shows and events (as these are non-seated social events and/or vocal concerts)
• Nightclubs
• Amusement parks
• Hookah lounges (permitted for food and drink only)
• Major sporting events and tournaments
• Non-essential travel outside the province is not recommended. This recommendation will not be lifted until stage three of the relaunch strategy.

The move to stage three, the final stage of the province’s relaunch, will be dependent on the rate of hospitalization and health-case system capacity and the number of active cases.

Though the province is moving ahead with further lifted restrictions, Kenney says the pandemic is not over, and that new cases will continue to pop up. He adds that if there are outbreaks identified, the province may implement measures and restrictions on a local level to help curb and contain the spread of the virus.

“If we stay vigilant and disciplined. If we stay dedicated, especially to protecting the most vulnerable, we’ll be able to continue lifting restrictions and expanding opportunities throughout the relaunch.”