Article content
With news on COVID-19 happening rapidly, we’ve created this page to bring you our latest stories and information on the outbreak in and around Calgary.
Business
COVID-19 Live Updates: News on coronavirus in Calgary for March 10 – Calgary Herald
Watch this page throughout the day for updates on COVID-19 in Calgary.
Author of the article:
Publishing date:
Mar 10, 2021 • 27 minutes ago • 6 minute read • 
Join the conversation
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
My COVID Story: How have you been impacted by coronavirus?
Postmedia is looking to speak with people who may have been impacted by COVID-19 here in Alberta. Have you undergone a travel-related quarantine? Have you received your vaccine, and if so did you feel any side effects? Have you changed your life for the better because of the pandemic? Send us an email at reply@calgaryherald.com to tell us your experience, or send us a message via this form.
Read our ongoing coverage of personal stories arising from the pandemic.
Calgary pharmacies offering COVID-19 vaccine
This map shows all 48 Calgary pharmacies that are offering the COVID-19 vaccine. Currently the vaccine is open to all Albertans born in the year 1946 or earlier. Appointments are still necessary and can be booked by contacting the participating pharmacies. Details on booking your vaccine jab at a pharmacy can be found here.
More than 10,000 AstraZeneca vaccine appointments booked
More than 10,000 eligible Albertans booked appointments for the AstraZeneca vaccine Wednesday morning, as the province expanded its COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Call volumes were high when Health Link’s phone line opened at 8 a.m., Alberta Health Services said on Twitter, while recommending people turn to the online booking tool if the line rings busy or opt to call later in the day. The introduction of a third COVID-19 vaccine has sped up the province’s immunization plan, giving the jab to people now who would have otherwise had to wait until May for Phase 2D of the government’s plan.
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
First Nations, Métis and Inuit individuals aged 49 and other Albertans aged 64 with no severe chronic illness are the first people eligible for AstraZeneca vaccine.
In an open letter published online Tuesday evening, AHS said that while capacity has been increased with the booking tool, Albertans can help by considering waiting until later in the day to book appointments.
“While we have increased capacity, if everyone tries to access those services at the same time, the queues will fill up and there will be delays,” AHS said in the open letter. “If people are patient and wait until less peak times, the system will work better and more people will have an improved experience.”
The tool has capacity to book about 100,000 appointments over 24 hours, according to AHS.
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
High COVID-19 count prompts citywide COVID-19 vaccinations in Prince Rupert, B.C.
Health officials say an entire northwestern British Columbia city will be vaccinated over the next three weeks as the community continues to face persistent outbreaks of COVID-19.
The first clinics for roughly 12,000 residents of Prince Rupert and nearby Port Edward begin Monday and continue until April 1, said Northern Health in a statement.
Prince Rupert has a high COVID-19 case and positivity rate and has not seen the improvements in recent weeks that are happening elsewhere in the region, said Dr. Jong Kim, Northern Health chief medical health officer.
Braid: Fight with doctors? Never happened, says health minister
Columnist Don Braid writes:
If UCP politicians were asked which fiasco they want every voter to forget, the likely winner would be “the fight with the doctors.”
The great forgetting has already begun.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro claimed Tuesday there was never any conflict between the government and the Alberta Medical Association, which represents physicians.
At a legislature committee meeting he said: “there was no fight with the Alberta Medical Association.”
Politicians will always try to rewrite history, but for heaven’s sake, they can at least wait until the history is actually over.
Closed since December, Calgary libraries reopen today
After being shut down for nearly three months, Calgary Public Library branches have reopened today with reduced hours.
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
All 21 locations will require adherence to health measures still in place, including mandatory masks and prohibiting food and drinks. They’ll be operating at 15 per cent capacity and won’t be running any on-site gatherings or programs.
Mark Asberg, Calgary Public Library’s CEO, said he is pleased libraries were bumped up in the provincial government’s relaunch strategy.
“We know that our community is in need of our services and, for many, the library is a critical resource,” Asberg said in a statement.
YMCA Calgary announced last week that all of its facilities would reopen for drop-in fitness and some group classes on March 12. Brookfield Residential YMCA and Shane Homes YMCA opened on March 8.
More COVID-19 restriction violation charges being dismissed, say lawyers
An increasing number of charges alleging COVID-19 restriction violations are being dismissed by Alberta Crown Prosecutors, say lawyers defending against them.
In recent days, at least nine charges alleging mask violations and a ban on gatherings have been dropped by prosecutors, said Jay Cameron, a lawyer with the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedom.
Some of those dismissed charges included fines of $1,200 and involved people attending protests in Calgary and Edmonton and those ticketed for not wearing masks in stores, he said.
It’s clear prosecutors considered the likelihood of a guilty verdict to be low, reflecting the charges’ frivolous and even unconstitutional nature, said Cameron.
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Tuesday
Alberta prepares for AstraZeneca vaccine rollout, reports 255 new cases of COVID-19
Alberta reported another 255 cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday as the province prepares to administer the first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine starting Wednesday.
Booking appointments for the AstraZeneca vaccine will start on Wednesday at 8 a.m. for Albertans aged 64 and First Nations, Métis and Inuit individuals aged 49, with no severe chronic illness.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is recommended for people aged 18 to 64 who are less at risk of severe outcomes and do not have a specific chronic condition, are not a caregiver of high-risk individuals or do not live or work in congregate settings.
Tuesday
Police investigating after observing more than 100 people at party in southwest Edmonton Saturday night
Edmonton police are investigating after breaking up a party in southwest Edmonton attended by more than 100 people Saturday night.
Officers responded to the Khrome Beauty Lounge, located in a commercial complex called Ellwood Corner, at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, to a complaint of a large gathering, Edmonton police spokesman Scott Pattison said.
It was estimated there were between 100 and 125 people in attendance at the party, where officers also discovered “large volumes of alcohol” and a DJ on the premises.
Tuesday
255 new cases, six deaths
The latest COVID-19 numbers for Alberta:
- 255 new cases on 5,434 tests; ~4.7% positivity rate
- 263 in hospital; 37 in ICUs
- Six deaths; 1,926 total
- 4,470 active cases; 129,978 recovered
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
There was no live update from chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw on Tuesday.
Advertisement
Story continues below
This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Article content
Continue Reading
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:TRZ)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:DOL)
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:TD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
News27 mins ago
Tua Tagovailoa sustains concussion after hitting head on turf in Dolphins’ loss to Bills
News27 mins ago
Too much? Many Americans feel the need to limit their political news, AP-NORC/USAFacts poll finds
Sports2 hours ago
France investigating disappearances of 2 Congolese Paralympic athletes
Media1 year ago
12 Bizarre Things People Did Just To Make Social Media Content
Investment5 years ago
dynaCERT Inc. Invites You to Join Us at the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference | INN – Investing News Network
Sports4 years ago
AP source: Bears acquiring quarterback Nick Foles from Jaguars – Sportsnet.ca
-
Sports6 hours agoLawyer says Chinese doping case handled ‘reasonably’ but calls WADA’s lack of action “curious”
-
News6 hours ago
RCMP say 3 dead, suspects at large in targeted attack at home in Lloydminster, Sask.
-
News5 hours ago
Hall of Famer Joe Schmidt, who helped Detroit Lions win 2 NFL titles, dies at 92
-
News16 hours ago
RBC names Katherine Gibson as permanent chief financial officer
-
News6 hours ago
Nova Scotia adopts bill declaring domestic violence in the province an epidemic
-
News16 hours ago
Canadanewsmedia news September 12, 2024: Air Canada pilot strike looms, BC transit strike talks resume
-
News5 hours ago
A linebacker at West Virginia State is fatally shot on the eve of a game against his old school
-
News5 hours ago
B.C. to scrap consumer carbon tax if federal government drops legal requirement: Eby
