COVID-19 Update: 130 new cases over weekend | Will expanded patios be permanent? | Quebec to stage concert 'experiments' - Calgary Herald

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Postmedia News

Publishing date:

Jul 20, 2021 • 11 minutes ago • 9 minute read • Join the conversation

People spend the afternoon on Stephen Avenue in downtown Calgary while smoke from wildfires creates a poor air quality on Sunday, July 18, 2021. Photo by Azin Ghaffari/Postmedia

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.

What’s happening now

Alberta reports 130 new COVID-19 cases over weekend

Alberta has recorded 130 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend. Two people have died, bringing the provincial death toll to 2,316 people.
On Friday, Alberta saw 49 new cases from 5,517 completed tests. On Saturday, there were 43 new cases from 5,358 tests. On Sunday, another 38 new cases were found from 4,345 tests. The positivity rate has risen from 0.68 per cent to 0.82 per cent over three days.
According to the data released this afternoon, there are 100 people with COVID-19 in hospital, down from 110 recorded last Thursday. There are 27 people in intensive care.
Alberta currently has 605 active cases, up from 579 active cases recorded last Thursday. The Calgary zone continues to have the highest number of active cases in the province with 326, more than double the number of cases recorded in the Edmonton zone.
There are 366 active cases in Alberta caused by a variant of concern. On Sunday, 115 additional variant cases were reported.
More than five million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Alberta as of Sunday.
The data shows 74.1 per cent of eligible Albertans 12 or older have received at least one dose of a vaccine and 55.3 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Last weekend, Alberta recorded 90 new cases of COVID-19 over three days.

Apple delays office return by at least a month as COVID spikes

A customer wearing a protective mask tries out the Apple Inc. iMac computers at an Apple store in Palo Alto, California. Photo by Nina Riggio/Bloomber files

Apple Inc. is pushing back its return to office deadline by at least a month to October at the earliest, responding to a resurgence of COVID variants across many countries, people familiar with the matter said.

The iPhone maker becomes one of the first U.S. tech giants to delay plans for a return to normality as COVID-19 persists around the world and cases involving a highly transmissible variant increase.

Apple will give its employees at least a month’s warning before mandating a return to offices, people familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing internal policy.

Olympic athletes’ village COVID-19 isolation bubble already ‘broken’: health expert

The Olympic Rings monument is seen outside the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC) headquarters near the National Stadium, the main stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, in Tokyo, Japan on June 23, 2021. Photo by Issei Kato /Reuters

The isolation bubble system that Olympic organizers have set up at the Tokyo Games village to control COVID-19 is already broken, and there is a risk that infections could spread more widely from inside it, a prominent public health expert said on Tuesday.

Games officials on Sunday reported the first coronavirus case among competitors in the village in Tokyo where 11,000 athletes are expected to stay. There have been 67 cases detected among those accredited for the Games since July 1, organizers said on Tuesday.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said last week that testing and quarantine protocols would leave “zero” risk of Games participants infecting residents in Japan.

Monday

Councillor says expanded patios should be summertime fixture

A Calgary city councillor says it’s time to make expanded restaurant patios a regular summer feature.

The city started giving businesses the option to expedite the process of extending patio space into parking lots and on sidewalks as Alberta’s first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic subsided last year. Permit fees were waived to make the process more accessible, helping eateries and bars seat more people outdoors amid capacity limits and spacing requirements.

Coun. Evan Woolley said Monday while the additional space was introduced to help businesses through pandemic restrictions, the patios should return in summers to come.

“They’re willing to invest in this,” said Woolley. “Some of these restaurants have put in a significant amount of money (for patios), but a lot of them are holding off, saying, ‘If we’re only doing this for one year, I’m not going to make the investment.’”

Monday

Border opening welcome but too late to salvage the summer: tourism officials

The boardwalk in Canmore is pictured in this file photo. Tourism operators in Alberta welcomed news that Canada will open its borders to fully vaccinated Americans starting Aug. 9. Photo by Postmedia file

Canada’s commitment to open its borders over the next two months is a solid tonic for the local tourism sector but won’t rescue a summer starved of foreign visitors, says the hospitality industry.

Ottawa’s plan to open Canada’s borders to fully vaccinated Americans on Aug. 9 and other international travellers Sept. 7 is a watershed moment for a pandemic-battered industry, said Cindy Ady, CEO of Tourism Calgary.

But it’s one that brightens a slightly more distant horizon, she said.

“People have made this year’s vacation plans already and for our U.S. friends, their kids go back to school in mid-August,” said Ady. “So this is not for summer, but winter comes on its heels and the ski season is very active.

“Actually, we’re starting to see the phones light up,” she said.

Monday

Drop-in vaccine clinics open this week

Alberta Health Services is offering no-appointment drop-in clinics in northeast Calgary and Crossfield starting this Saturday. First and second doses will be offered to people born in 2009 or earlier.

There will be 300 doses of mRNA vaccine at each clinic. Remember to bring your Alberta Health Care card if you have one, along with a photo ID.

Here are the locations:

July 24 (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) –Somali Cultural Centre, 3940 29th St. N.E., Calgary
July 27 (4 p.m. to 8 p.m.) – Crossfield Community Centre, 900 Mountain Ave., Crossfield
July 29 (4 p.m. to 8 p.m.) – Crossroads Community Centre, 1803 14th Ave. N.E., Calgary

Monday

Quebec to hold COVID-19 experiment in September involving two large-scale concerts

People wearing protective masks attend a Love of Lesbian concert at the Palau Sant Jordi, the first massive concert since the start of the pandemic, in Barcelona, Spain, March 27, 2021. Photo by REUTERS/Albert Gea

The Quebec government is planning two concerts involving a total of 25,000 spectators in September as an experiment to examine the impact of COVID-19 on large gatherings and to help relaunch the entertainment and tourism industries.

“The goal is to have a test concert sometime in September that would reproduce the conditions pre-pandemic,” Proulx told reporters in Quebec City. “The goal is to help the event industry, which has been severely hit by the pandemic, to fully resume its activities in a safe environment.”

Quebec is touting itself as the first province to attempt such an experiment; similar ones have been held in cities like Barcelona and Paris.

Monday

U.S. coronavirus cases rise, fuelling fears of resurgence

A woman receives a shot of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a pop-up vaccination centre at the beach, in South Beach, Florida, on May 9, 2021. Photo by EVA MARIE UZCATEGUI/AFP via Getty Images

A rapid increase in coronavirus cases in the United States and abroad is fueling fears of a pandemic resurgence and sending shockwaves through the stock market as the highly contagious Delta variant takes hold and vaccinations lag in several states.

Largely due to outbreaks in parts of the country with low vaccination rates, the number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 have been on the rise in recent weeks.

Monday

Canada set to receive 7.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses this week

A person unpacks a special refrigerated box of the Moderna vaccine. Getty Images, file

The federal government is expecting to receive about 7.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines this week, as it adjusts its distribution strategy amid waning vaccination rates and substantial supply.

The new deliveries will include about 3.1 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and four million doses of Moderna.

“In the coming weeks, we will cross a symbolic threshold of 66 million doses, signalling that there are enough doses in Canada to vaccinate every currently eligible Canadian,” Brig.-Gen. Krista Brodie said Thursday at a virtual news conference from Ottawa.

Monday

‘Quite a ride’: Successful 2021 Stampede a pandemic blueprint, says exhibition

Visitors enjoyed free entry to the Calgary Stampede grounds on Sunday, July 18, 2021. Photo by Gavin Young/Postmedia

It rustled up half the usual attendance, but the 2021 edition of the Calgary Stampede was a galloping success that shows the way for other major events emerging from the pandemic, exhibition officials said Sunday.

With one day remaining in the annual western bash, final attendance figures weren’t released but its organizers said the 10-day affair attracted about 50,000 people a day, just as predicted.

Visitor satisfaction levels and a successful approach to screening for COVID-19 at the popular Nashville North music venue are a beacon to organizers of other major events, said Stampede president Steve McDonough.

“Throughout our 109-year history, we have been a trailblazer but never more than this year,” said McDonough.

“This year, our community celebration was a first step to the return to live events for this city and this country and we are proud to lead the way.

“There is light after the darkness of the past 16 months.”

Monday

Banff forges ahead but tourism trade can’t shake pandemic’s grip

Bear St. Plaza nearing completion. Photo by supplied

While the town of Banff prepares to unveil a transformational leap for its downtown, the mountain resort’s tourist lifeblood remains at a low ebb.

For a second consecutive summer, the dearth of foreign visitors is casting a pall over Banff, even as the town puts the finishing touches on the Bear Street Plaza which has turned one of its busy core arteries into a pedestrian mecca.

After more than a year of construction-related disruptions, the nearly $10-million project undergirded by 90,000 interlocking bricks is set to open Monday.

“We’re creating a hospitality-friendly street … one of the goals was to redistribute traffic downtown and draw people to Bear Street more,” said Darren Enns, director of planning and development for the Town of Banff.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming the world back — it’s going to be a huge hit with our visitors.”

But with the country’s borders still largely closed, it won’t rescue the summer of 2021, said Jonathan Welsh, co-owner of Banff Trail Riders.

“Not much has changed since last year,” said Welsh.

“I’m hoping for somewhat of a return to normal travel this winter and a return to that booking window (for 2022).”

Monday

Canada surpasses U.S. in COVID-19 vaccinations, despite its slow start

People receive a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at a mass vaccination clinic at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Sunday, June 27, 2021. Photo by Cole Burston /The Canadian Press

Canada has fully vaccinated 48.8 per cent of its population against COVID-19, overtaking the U.S. rate for the first time after a delayed start caused by procurement troubles and distribution bottlenecks.

In the U.S, where vaccinations are plateauing in some regions, 48.5 per cent of the population is fully inoculated.

Of those old enough to get the vaccine in Canada, 55 per cent have now received two doses, according to calculations by CTV News based on provincial and federal government data. Health authorities have approved the Pfizer Inc. shot for children 12 years and older.

Rapid progress in the vaccine campaign — Canada had fully vaccinated only 3 per cent of its population as of the middle of May — is paving the way for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to relax travel restrictions on the eve of a likely election campaign.

Trudeau said last week that Canada will be able to welcome fully-vaccinated travellers from the U.S. as early as mid-August, and from all other countries by September, if “the current positive path of vaccination rate and public health conditions continue.”