COVID-19 data, along with new comments from health officials and politicians, are prompting questions about when Alberta will relaunch its economy and if some places will open sooner than others.
New COVID-19 cases in Edmonton have been declining since a peak in early April.
It is difficult to interpret a graph in the midst of drawing it, but a professor of infectious disease at the University of Alberta says the graph is nice to see.
“Our numbers are not going up fairly quickly,” said Dr. Stephanie Smith. “So I think that is encouraging. I think we can be encouraged by that.”
On March 31, Edmonton saw 39 new cases of COVID-19. For the first week of April, new cases dropped off a bit but stayed close to that March 31 peak.
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However, since then, there have only been a handful of days with new cases in the double-digits.
Calgary’s curve looks different. Cases have been trending up since the first one was discovered.
The Calgary zone is dealing with multiple outbreaks in long-term care centres and the outbreak at the Cargill meatpacking plan in High River is considered to be in the Calgary zone.
Graph shows the number of new COVID-19 cases per day since early March in the Calgary region.
Even though Calgary’s numbers are significantly higher than Edmonton’s, both regions are well below case counts and deaths found in the province’s probable modelling released two weeks ago.
As encouraging as some of these numbers are, Smith says the differences between regions likely mean Alberta is not able to move towards an economic relaunch right now.
“I think maybe we’re not quite there yet given the situation in Calgary, and we can’t really restrict movement within the province all that well,” she said.
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Still, some are wondering if it is possible to gradually reopen areas of Alberta while keeping other places closed.
Nationally, Canada’s chief public health officer says she and her provincial colleagues are working on a checklist for provinces looking to reopen.
Dr. Theresa Tam says provinces ought to “tread very carefully” but every jurisdiction will likely act differently.
“Different kinds of epidemics are going across the country,” she said. “So the timing of the measures or changes in what happens, there may be some variations on that.”
That individualized relaunch has some local businesses hoping that could mean different timelines in different parts of the provinces. Michelle Cairns owns a Snap Fitness in south Edmonton. The gym has been closed since March 17.
“[It’s been] really stressful,” she said. “The not knowing — seeing the updates day by day and not really knowing where we are, where we’re headed — it’s stressful.
“As a business owner, yes, I’d like to see things start to open sooner rather than later.”
But she has some health questions.
“How do you stop people from moving region to region,” Cairns said. “I think that the people who are antsy will go from region to region.”
Smith isn’t sure provinces will create different rules for different cities, but she does say the health system might make some changes.
Right now, elective surgeries are cancelled across the province to free up staff and space for COVID-19 patients.
“If Edmonton continues on this path, should we restart more elective surgeries?” Smith asked.
Premier Jason Kenney also addressed when the province might start loosening the public health restrictions. He says a committee will meet this week and he expects more details on Alberta’s relaunch strategy next week.
“I know this is getting increasingly difficult for Albertans, but I do believe with the progress we’ve made, we can see light at the end of the tunnel here,” he said.
However, Kenney added Alberta won’t rush a relaunch. While the province’s efforts to fight COVID-19 appear to be succeeding, moving too soon could prove fatal.
“If we let the virus loose,” Kenney said, “we would lose the value of all the sacrifices we have made to date.”
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
