By Canadian Press

CASES STILL RISING

Alberta unions call for circuit-breaker COVID-19 lockdown, premier says no

Jan 12, 2022 | 4:42 PM

EDMONTON – The leaders of Alberta’s largest public and private sector unions are calling for drastic lockdown measures immediately to fight the spiralling COVID-19 Omicron variant.

The leaders are calling for no in-person service at restaurants and bars, closing theatres and casinos, shuttering gyms, suspending recreational sports, and sending students home to learn online as a last resort.

They say it’s a difficult call but necessary to prevent the rapidly spreading variant from flooding hospitals and overwhelming an exhausted, depleted staff of frontline health workers.

But a spokesperson for Premier Jason Kenney says the United Conservative government is following and acting on the scientific data for the Omicron wave and that a lockdown is not being considered.

Alberta Health reports 708 people are in hospital with COVID-19 a rise of 73 from a day earlier with 80 of them in intensive care.

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READ MORE: 708 Albertans currently hospitalized with COVID, rising steadily

There are now well over 58,000 active COVID-19 cases in Alberta but Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the chief medical officer of health, has said the case numbers are low and the actual infections are likely 10 times higher.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 12, 2022.