Photo: Government of Alberta

By Shaun Penner

New Public Health Measures

State of public health emergency declared in Alberta as new COVID-19 restrictions come in

Nov 24, 2020 | 5:12 PM

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has announced new public health restrictions for the province as a state of public health emergency has once again been declared as cases of COVID-19 continue a steep rise.

Of those new restrictions, indoor social gatherings are prohibited across Alberta effective Tuesday. Outdoor social gatherings will be limited to 10 people and cannot have an indoor component.

Weddings and funeral services will be limited to a maximum of 10 people. Receptions will not be permitted.

For worship services, a maximum of 1/3 normal attendance will be in place, as long as physical distancing between households is maintained and masks are worn. Online services are encouraged.

In-person classes for students in Grades 7-12 will be moving to at-home learning starting November 30 and will resume January 11. Grades K-6 will continue with in-person classes until December 18, when the Christmas break starts.

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Certain businesses will also have to close for in-person services in areas under an “enhanced” COVID-19 status, which includes the City and County of Grande Prairie, the MD of Greenview and the Peace River area.

These include:

• Banquet halls, conference centres, trade shows and concert venues, non-approved/licensed markets, community centres.
• Children’s play places or indoor playgrounds.
• All levels of sport (professional, semi-professional, junior, collegiate/universities and amateur). Exemptions may be considered.

Restaurants, bars, pubs and lounges can continue in-person dining with new restrictions in “enhanced” areas of the province, that will be effective on Friday. Those include a maximum of six people from the same immediate household at a table and no movement between tables. People who live alone can meet with up to two non-household contacts, as long as they’re the same two people throughout the duration of these restrictions.

Most retail businesses may remain open for in-person service, with capacity limited to 25 per cent in “enhanced” areas, including:

• Retail, including liquor and cannabis
• Grocery stores
• Pharmacies
• Clothing stores
• Computer and technology stores
• Hardware
• Automotive
• Farmers markets approved by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry
• Unlicensed outdoor seasonal markets

As well, some entertainment and event services may remain open with capacity limited to 25 per cent. These include:

• Movie theatres
• Museums and galleries
• Libraries
• Casinos, offering slots only. Table games must be closed at this time.
• Indoor entertainment centres including amusement parks, water parks, bingo halls and racing centres.
• Indoor fitness, recreation, sports and physical activity centres, including dance and yoga studios, martial arts, gymnastics and private or public swimming pools.
  • Facilities can be open for individual studio time, training or exercise only.
  • There can be no group fitness, group classes, group training, team practices or games.
  • Instructors can use facility to broadcast virtual fitness classes from, but there can be no group class

Other businesses may remain open by appointment only in “enhanced” areas, where walk-in services will be prohibited. These services include:

• Personal services such as hair salons and barbershops, esthetics, manicure, pedicure, body waxing and make-up, piercing and tattoo services
• Wellness services including acupuncture, massage and reflexology
• Professional services such as lawyers, mediators, accountants and photographers
• Private one-on-one lessons (no private group lessons permitted)
• Hotels, motels, hunting and fishing lodges

The full list of new public health measures can be found here. Kenney says the new measures will be in place for at least three weeks.

The province says not following mandatory restrictions could result in fines of $1,000 per ticketed offence and up to $100,000 through the courts.