Photo: Government of Alberta

By Shaun Penner

Provincial Relaunch

Stage one of economic relaunch to go ahead Thursday

May 13, 2020 | 3:56 PM

Premier Jason Kenney says the province will be going ahead with stage one of its economic relaunch strategy from COVID-19 on Thursday, May 14, while taking a slower approach in the communities of Calgary and Brooks.

Kenney made the announcement during Wednesday’s daily COVID-19 update, citing the province’s low rate of hospitalization, and the number of recoveries from the novel coronavirus. As of Wednesday, 70 Albertans are in hospital with COVID-19, with 12 of those patients being admitted to ICU.

“The growth curve has been successfully flattened in most of Alberta,” said Kenney. “We must, however, be careful. We must continue to take all of the small, daily precautions to keep the spread of the infection low, and to protect the most vulnerable amongst us.”

With the approval to move ahead here in the Peace Country with stage one of the province’s three-stage relaunch strategy, the following businesses will be permitted to open, with restrictions:

• Retail businesses, such as clothing, furniture, and bookstores. All vendors at farmers’ markets will also be able to operate.
• Some personal services like hair styling and barbershops.
• Museums and art galleries.
• More scheduled surgeries, dental procedures, physiotherapy, chiropractic, optometry, and similar services.
• Daycares and out-of-school care with limits on occupancy.
• Summer camps with limits on occupancy. This could include summer school.
• Cafés, restaurants (minors allowed in liquor-licensed establishments) with no bar service to reopen for public seating at 50 per cent capacity.
• The use of masks will be strongly recommended in certain specific crowded public spaces, like mass transit, that do not allow for physical distancing (two metres apart).
• Places of worship, with strict adherence to guidelines

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Places like movie theatres pools, recreation centres, arenas, spas, gyms, and nightclubs must still remain closed. Gatherings of more than 15 people are still prohibited as part of this stage.

As for Calgary and Brooks, Kenney says a more gradual approach will be taken to re-opening the above listed businesses. He says this will be done over a two-week period, as those two communities account for over 80 per cent of the province’s active cases.

Starting Thursday, retail stores in Calgary and Brooks will be allowed to open. Restaurants, bars, hair salons and barbershops can’t open until May 25, while summer camps, summer schools and in-person post-secondary classes will not be allowed to take place until June 1.

As cited by the Premier, Alberta continues to see much lower hospitalization and ICU admissions than anticipated, which led to the province deciding to go ahead with stage one of its relaunch. Projections initially showed a probable scenario with a peak of 600 hospitalizations in mid-May. The current peak was seen at 96 hospitalizations in April, and has continued to fall since.

“All of these numbers add up to a very successful stand, so far, against COVID-19 in Alberta,” said Kenney. “Above all, these results reflect the discipline shown and the sacrifices made by millions of Albertans. All of it, to protect the most vulnerable amongst us.”

Kenney adds that if people continue to follow public health guidelines, stages two and three of the relaunch could happen sooner rather than later. However, he did warn that if the public largely ignores public health measures like continued physical distancing, and hospitalization and new cases spike in certain regions, restrictions could be re-introduced.