EDMONTON —
Alberta is reverting to Step 1 of COVID-19 restrictions and will shut down indoor dining as cases of the COVID-19 variants of concern increase across the province.
Tuesday at midnight, the government will reduce retail capacity to 15 per cent, close libraries, only allow one-on-one training and prohibit activities such as dancing and singing.
And on Friday, restaurants, bars and cafes must close indoor dining, but can remain open for outdoor patio dining, takeout and curbside pickup.
Indoor gatherings are still banned, outdoor gatherings are limited to 10 people and places of worship continue to be restricted to 15 per cent occupancy.
RISING NUMBERS
Alberta reported 931 cases, including 676 variant infections, and three deaths, increasing the death toll to 2,001.
The province has seen a recent surge of cases and has added more than 800 new infections every day since March 31.
Since the start of April, the province’s active case count has grown by more than 1,700. Meanwhile, its test positivity has exceeded eight per cent each of the last five days, including 10.2 per cent on Tuesday.
Variants of concern now represent 42.6 per cent of the 10,809 active cases, up from 27 per cent last Monday.
“In the race between variants and virus, the variants are winning,” Kenney said.
“It is not clear yet if P.1 causes more severe outcomes than other strains, but we do know that it, like the B.117 variant, is more infectious,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw said. “We need to make sure we are looking at this big picture when considering all of the variants that we were seeing in the province, and taking actions every day to prevent spread of all strains of COVID-19.”
When asked if variants would become the dominant source of infections this week, Dr. Hinshaw said: “Yes, I think that’s accurate.”
Hospitalizations have remained above 300 six of the last seven days including the last five straight. The number of patients in intensive care units has grown more rapidly, up to 76 reported on Tuesday, nearly double the 40 reported three weeks prior.
Kenney said projections show Alberta could reach an average of 2,000 daily cases by the end of April based on current transmission rates, and up to 1,000 patients in hospital.
“We believe, based on the current trajectory, that if we don’t slow down this curve that we are set to hit the maximum capacity of our system in mid-May,” Premier Jason Kenney said.
“We can only do this together to prevent a long situation, a huge wave that causes massive cancellations of surgeries in our hospitals, and hundreds of preventable deaths,” he said.
THE PATH TO RECOVERY
Alberta had administered 734,403 vaccine doses and fully immunized just over 123,000 people as of Monday.
Starting Wednesday as part of Phase 2B, every Albertan 16 and older with a chronic condition can book a vaccine appointment, and people aged 55 to 64 with no underlying conditions can get an AstraZeneca shot, Kenney said.
The premier also announced the Path to Recovery, a number of stages with vaccination targets paired with reopening.
“By the end of May, that will be almost half of our population and by the end of June, it’ll be almost two-thirds with some level of protection, and by mid-September if Albertans take us up on the vaccines as I hope they will, almost three quarters of Albertans will have a good degree of immunity,” Kenney said.
“This is the end of the tunnel. It is our path to recovery. It is our path to freedom. Right now, we’re in a transition period, fighting to keep control of the virus, just a little while longer, until it is vanquished by vaccines.”
Alberta will share more details on its Path to Recovery later this month.
TORONTO – Restaurant Brands International Inc. reported net income of US$357 million for its third quarter, down from US$364 million in the same quarter last year.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says its profit amounted to 79 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 79 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue for the parent company of Tim Hortons, Burger King, Popeyes and Firehouse Subs, totalled US$2.29 billion, up from US$1.84 billion in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales were up 0.3 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Restaurant Brands says it earned 93 cents US per diluted share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 90 cents US per diluted share a year earlier.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Fortis Inc. reported a third-quarter profit of $420 million, up from $394 million in the same quarter last year.
The electric and gas utility says the profit amounted to 85 cents per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up from 81 cents per share a year earlier.
Fortis says the increase was driven by rate base growth across its utilities, and strong earnings in Arizona largely reflecting new customer rates at Tucson Electric Power.
Revenue in the quarter totalled $2.77 billion, up from $2.72 billion in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Fortis says it earned 85 cents per share in its latest quarter, up from an adjusted profit of 84 cents per share in the third quarter of 2023.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 82 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
TORONTO – Thomson Reuters reported its third-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as its revenue rose eight per cent.
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, says it earned US$301 million or 67 cents US per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The result compared with a profit of US$367 million or 80 cents US per diluted share in the same quarter a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter totalled US$1.72 billion, up from US$1.59 billion a year earlier.
In its outlook, Thomson Reuters says it now expects organic revenue growth of 7.0 per cent for its full year, up from earlier expectations for growth of 6.5 per cent.
On an adjusted basis, Thomson Reuters says it earned 80 cents US per share in its latest quarter, down from an adjusted profit of 82 cents US per share in the same quarter last year.
The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 76 cents US per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.
