The latest:
What you need to know today in Alberta:
An outbreak of COVID-19 has been declared at Cargill’s “case ready” facility in northeast Calgary. It’s a “further processing” facility that provides retail meat products for supermarkets across Western Canada.
Five cases of the virus have been confirmed at the plant, according to the latest provincial update. Approximately 400 people work at the facility on Freeport Way N.E.
Two other outbreaks were also declared by the province on Friday: five cases are now linked to the Fledglings Educare Centre in Calgary, and 13 cases are linked to a private gathering.
The Edmonton zone continues to have the most active cases, having surpassed the Calgary zone over the weekend.
The City of Edmonton is reviewing its mandatory face covering bylaw less than two weeks after it went into effect, council heard Thursday. The city provides exemptions to those who are unable to wear a mask due to physical or health conditions, but the city is considering changes to who is considered exempt and possible fines for people who lie about being exempt.
And as people gear up for the return to school, the province has mandated that students from Grades 4 through 12 will be required to wear masks in all public spaces and can choose to wear them while seated in the class. Masks will be optional for younger students.
A number of parents in Calgary are trying to make the difficult decision on whether to enrol their children in the public school system’s online learning Hub program instead of returning them to the classroom. Those considering online include an immunocompromised single mom whose doctor recommended keeping her daughter out of classes, a parent who feels the Alberta government’s return to school plan is “reckless” and a child who’s feeling too anxious about being in class amid the pandemic.
Meanwhile, some teachers say they’re terrified of returning to classrooms packed with dozens of students and are drawing up their wills, if they haven’t already done so.
School gym rentals in Edmonton are suspended until at least November, leaving sports and community groups across the city scrambling to make alternate plans for the fall.
The school reopening plans released by the Edmonton public and Catholic divisions earlier this month include a policy limiting outside community access to all school spaces.
With evidence suggesting that ethnicity is one of the risk factors for COVID-19, some human-rights advocates want the Alberta government to collect race-correlated data on infections.
There are hundreds of jobs up for grabs at Alberta’s ski resorts as they prepare for a winter season without their usual pool of foreign workers because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Travel restrictions caused by the pandemic are giving locals a leg up.
Kendra Scurfield, director of communications at Sunshine Village, says the resort has about 800 paid positions on offer during a typical season.
CBC News has curated a list of towns and cities in the province, outlining their policies on masks. We’ll try to keep it updated regularly.
Here’s a regional breakdown of active cases across the province as of Friday:
- Calgary zone: 305 cases (11 in hospital, none in ICU).
- Edmonton zone: 497 cases (22 in hospital, 7 in ICU).
- Central zone: 81 cases (4 in hospital, none in ICU).
- North zone: 103 cases (6 in hospital, 3 in ICU).
- South zone: 45 cases (5 in hospital, 3 in ICU).
- Unknown: 5 cases.
What you need to know today in Canada:
As of 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday, Canada had 121,758 confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases. Provinces and territories listed 108,043 of those as recovered or resolved. A CBC News tally of deaths based on provincial reports, regional health information and CBC’s reporting stood at 9,059.
Canada’s top doctors say they’re striving for a best-case scenario but preparing for the worst: a so-called “fall peak” of COVID-19 cases across the country.
Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced Friday that the federal government will extend the Canada-U.S. land border closure for another 30 days until September 21.
Ottawa was slow to respond to personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages that were flagged in February, documents obtained by CBC News reveal.
Some asylum seekers who cared for patients in hospitals and long term care homes at the height of the pandemic last spring will be eligible for permanent residency, Radio-Canada has learned.
Canada’s mortgage ‘stress test’ level has fallen for the third time since the pandemic began.
The bar at which the finances of Canadian mortgage borrowers gets tested has just been lowered, making it easier for would-be home buyers to reach.
Five-year posted mortgage rates at Canada’s big banks have inched lower in recent weeks, enough to compel the Bank of Canada to formally lower the average rate they base their calculations on to 4.79 per cent.
Self-assessment and supports:
Alberta Health Services has an online self-assessment tool that you can use to determine if you have symptoms of COVID-19, but testing is open to anyone, even without symptoms.
The province says Albertans who have returned to Canada from other countries must self-isolate. Unless your situation is critical and requires a call to 911, Albertans are advised to call Health Link at 811 before visiting a physician, hospital or other health-care facility.
If you have symptoms, even mild, you are to self-isolate for at least 10 days from the onset of symptoms, until the symptoms have disappeared.
You can find Alberta Health Services’ latest coronavirus updates here.
The province also operates a confidential mental health support line at 1-877-303-2642 and addiction help line at 1-866-332-2322, both available 24 hours a day.
Online resources are available for advice on handling stressful situations and ways to talk with children.
There is a 24-hour family violence information line at 310-1818 to get anonymous help in more than 170 languages, and Alberta’s One Line for Sexual Violence is available at 1-866-403-8000, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
