Province says pond hockey or shinny is illegal

From the Province of Alberta

Any sporting activity bringing participants within 2 meters is not allowed.

Update 163: COVID-19 pandemic in Alberta (Dec. 21)

Early indicators suggest that Alberta is beginning to bend the curve. Continue to follow public health guidelines to reduce spread and protect our health-care system.

Latest updates

Over the last 24 hours, 1,240 new cases were identified.
There are 795 people in hospital due to COVID-19, including 151 in intensive care.
There are 19,165 active cases in the province.
To date, 71,434 Albertans have recovered from COVID-19.
There was an increase of 18,306 tests (2,656,852 total) for a total of 1,616,542 people tested.
The testing positivity rate is 6.8 per cent.
In the last 24 hours, there were nine additional COVID-related deaths reported: one on Nov. 26, two on Dec. 17, one on Dec. 18, two on Dec. 19, and three on Dec. 20.
The total number of COVID-19 related deaths is now 860.
All zones across the province have cases:
- Calgary Zone: 6,748 active cases and 28,626 recovered
- South Zone: 461 active cases and 4,275 recovered
- Edmonton Zone: 9,147 active cases and 29,666 recovered
- North Zone: 1,137 active cases and 4,838 recovered
- Central Zone: 1,551 active cases and 3,885 recovered
- 121 active cases and 144 recovered cases in zones to be confirmed
- Additional information, including case totals, is online.
R values from Dec. 14-20 (confidence interval)
- Alberta provincewide: 0.92 (0.90-0.93)
- Edmonton Zone: 0.89 (0.86-0.91)
- Calgary Zone: 0.97 (0.97-1.00)
- Rest of Alberta: 0.90 (0.85-0.95)
Currently, 448 schools, about 19 per cent, are on alert or have outbreaks, with 1,992 cases in total.
- Of those, 137 schools are on alert, with 233 total cases.
- Outbreaks are declared in 311 schools, including 129 on watch, with a total of 1,759 cases.
- So far, in-school transmission has likely occurred in 377 schools. Of these, 192 have had only one new case result.
- Based on data available to date, 346 schools have been removed from the alert list.
- An online map lists schools with two or more confirmed cases, updated every school day.
There are 1,225 active and 4,165 recovered cases at long-term care facilities and supportive/home living sites.
To date, 560 of the 860 reported deaths (65 per cent) have been in long-term care facilities or supportive/home living sites.
Alberta is reporting case numbers and information daily, including on weekends and holidays.

Testing for travellers from the U.K.

All travellers who have arrived from the United Kingdom within the past 14 days should immediately get a COVID-19 test, whether they have symptoms or not.
Travellers will be contacted directly by Alberta Health Services to book a test.
Also, travellers from the United Kingdom who are participating in the border pilot must immediately quarantine, whether they’ve had a negative test or not. All returning travellers currently in quarantine must remain in quarantine for the full 14 days.

Rapid testing

Rapid point-of-care testing has begun at long-term care and designated supportive living facilities in the Edmonton Zone using dedicated mobile testing centres. Mobile testing centres are expected to be ready to deploy in the Calgary Zone starting the week of Dec. 21.
Remote and rural hospitals in Alberta will receive rapid tests in late December and early January.
Rapid testing has already been expanded to homeless shelters and centres in Calgary and Edmonton.

Vaccine distribution

Priority health-care workers in Edmonton and Calgary are now receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
Alberta will receive 25,350 doses of Pfizer vaccine during the week of Dec. 21.
The Pfizer vaccine must be administered at its delivery site and is being offered to respiratory therapists, intensive care unit physicians and staff, and eligible long-term care and designated supportive living facility workers.
As more shipments arrive in the new year, immunization will focus on Phase 1 priority populations and will include residents of long-term care and designated supportive living facilities, followed by seniors aged 75 and over, and First Nations on reserve, Inuit and on-settlement Métis individuals aged 65 and over.

Expanding outreach supports

Alberta has launched a comprehensive outreach program to reach communities with high levels of COVID-19 spread in Edmonton and Calgary to provide information about how to access supports people need to keep themselves and their families safe.

Provincewide restrictions to slow the spread of COVID-19

In response to increasing case numbers, enhanced public measures prohibiting social gatherings, requiring masking and restricting businesses and services are in effect.
These mandatory restrictions apply provincewide and will be in place for at least four weeks.
All existing guidance and legal orders remain in place.

Enforcement of public health measures

The government has granted certain Alberta peace officers and community peace officers temporary authority to enforce public health orders.
Not following mandatory restrictions will result in fines of $1,000 per ticketed offence and up to $100,000 through the courts.

Albertans downloading tracer app

All Albertans are encouraged to download the secure ABTraceTogether app, which is integrated with provincial contact tracing. The federal app is not a contact tracing app.
Secure contact tracing is an effective tool to stop the spread by notifying people who were exposed to a confirmed case so they can isolate and be tested.
As of Dec. 21, 287,251 Albertans were using the ABTraceTogether app, 66 per cent on iOS and 34 per cent on Android. On average, 22 new users were registering every hour.
Secure contact tracing is a cornerstone of Alberta’s Relaunch Strategy.

Influenza immunization

Everyone, especially seniors and those at risk, is encouraged to get immunized against influenza.
As of Dec. 12, 1,450,368 Albertans have received their flu shot. That means almost 33 per cent of Albertans are immunized against influenza so far this year.

MyHealth Records quick access

Parents and guardians can access the COVID-19 test results for children under the age of 18 through MyHealth Records (MHR) as soon as they are ready.
More than 473,873 Albertans have MHR accounts.

Access to justice

For the latest updates on court operations, please visit:

Alberta’s Recovery Plan

Alberta’s Recovery Plan will create jobs, economic diversification and a strong economic future.

Addiction and mental health supports

Confidential supports are available. The Mental Health Help Line at 1-877-303-2642 and the Addiction Help Line at 1-866-332-2322 operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Resources are also available online.
The Kids Help Phone is available 24-7 and offers professional counselling, information and referrals and volunteer-led, text-based support to young people by texting CONNECT to 686868.
Online resources provide advice on handling stressful situations and ways to talk with children.

Family violence prevention

A 24-hour Family Violence Information Line at 310-1818 provides anonymous help in more than 170 languages.
Alberta’s One Line for Sexual Violence is available at 1-866-403-8000, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
People fleeing family violence can call local police or the nearest RCMP detachment to apply for an Emergency Protection Order, or follow the steps in the Emergency Protection Orders Telephone Applications (COVID-19).
Information sheets and other resources on family violence prevention are at alberta.ca/COVID19.

Alberta’s government is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by protecting lives and livelihoods with precise measures to bend the curve, sustain small businesses and protect Alberta’s health-care system.

Quick facts

Legally, all Albertans must physically distance and isolate when sick or with symptoms.
Good hygiene is your best protection: wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds, avoid touching your face, cough or sneeze into an elbow or sleeve, and dispose of tissues appropriately.
Please share acts of kindness during this difficult time at #AlbertaCares.
Alberta Connects Contact Centre (310-4455) is open Monday to Friday, 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Related Topics:#AlbertaCOVID19UpdateDecember21 #PondHockey #Shinny feature

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Alberta mother accuses health agency of trying to vaccinate son against her wishes

Alberta

Alberta mother accuses health agency of trying to vaccinate son against her wishes

Published on November 22, 2024

Todayville

From LifeSiteNews

By Clare Marie Merkowsky

Alberta Health Services has been accused of attempting to vaccinate a child in school against his parent’s wishes.

On November 6, Alberta Health Services staffers visited Edmonton Hardisty School where they reportedly attempted to vaccinate a grade 6 student despite his parents signing a form stating that they did not wish for him to receive the vaccines.

“It is clear they do not prioritize parental rights, and in not doing so, they traumatize students,” the boy’s mother Kerri Findling told the Counter Signal.

During the school visit, AHS planned to vaccinate sixth graders with the HPV and hepatitis B vaccines. Notably, both HPV and hepatitis B are vaccines given to prevent diseases normally transmitted sexually.

Among the chief concerns about the HPV vaccine has been the high number of adverse reactions reported after taking it, including a case where a 16 year-old Australian girl was made infertile due to the vaccine.

Additionally, in 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration received reports of 28 deaths associated with the HPV vaccine. Among the 6,723 adverse reactions reported that year, 142 were deemed life-threatening and 1,061 were considered serious.

Children whose parents had written “refused” on their forms were supposed to return to the classroom when the rest of the class was called into the vaccination area.

However, in this case, Findling alleged that AHS staffers told her son to proceed to the vaccination area, despite seeing that she had written “refused” on his form.

When the boy asked if he could return to the classroom, as he was certain his parents did not intend for him to receive the shots, the staff reportedly said “no.” However, he chose to return to the classroom anyway.

Following his parents’ arrival at the school, AHS claimed the incident was a misunderstanding due to a “new hire,” attesting that the mistake would have been caught before their son was vaccinated.

“If a student leaves the vaccination center without receiving the vaccine, it should be up to the parents to get the vaccine at a different time, if they so desire, not the school to enforce vaccination on behalf of AHS,” Findling declared.

Findling’s story comes just a few months after Alberta Premier Danielle Smith promised a new Bill of Rights affirming “God-given” parental authority over children.

A draft version of a forthcoming Alberta Bill of Rights provided to LifeSiteNews includes a provision beefing up parental rights, declaring the “freedom of parents to make informed decisions concerning the health, education, welfare and upbringing of their children.”

Alberta

Alberta’s fiscal update projects budget surplus, but fiscal fortunes could quickly turn

Published on November 21, 2024

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill

According to the recent mid-year update tabled Thursday, the Smith government projects a $4.6 billion surplus in 2024/25, up from the $2.9 billion surplus projected just a few months ago. Despite the good news, Premier Smith must reduce spending to avoid budget deficits.

The fiscal update projects resource revenue of $20.3 billion in 2024/25. Today’s relatively high—but very volatile—resource revenue (including oil and gas royalties) is helping finance today’s spending and maintain a balanced budget. But it will not last forever.

For perspective, in just the last decade the Alberta government’s annual resource revenue has been as low as $2.8 billion (2015/16) and as high as $25.2 billion (2022/23).

And while the resource revenue rollercoaster is currently in Alberta’s favor, Finance Minister Nate Horner acknowledges that “risks are on the rise” as oil prices have dropped considerably and forecasters are projecting downward pressure on prices—all of which impacts resource revenue.

In fact, the government’s own estimates show a $1 change in oil prices results in an estimated $630 million revenue swing. So while the Smith government plans to maintain a surplus in 2024/25, a small change in oil prices could quickly plunge Alberta back into deficit. Premier Smith has warned that her government may fall into a budget deficit this fiscal year.

This should come as no surprise. Alberta’s been on the resource revenue rollercoaster for decades. Successive governments have increased spending during the good times of high resource revenue, but failed to rein in spending when resource revenues fell.

Previous research has shown that, in Alberta, a $1 increase in resource revenue is associated with an estimated 56-cent increase in program spending the following fiscal year (on a per-person, inflation-adjusted basis). However, a decline in resource revenue is not similarly associated with a reduction in program spending. This pattern has led to historically high levels of government spending—and budget deficits—even in more recent years.

Consider this: If this fiscal year the Smith government received an average level of resource revenue (based on levels over the last 10 years), it would receive approximately $13,000 per Albertan. Yet the government plans to spend nearly $15,000 per Albertan this fiscal year (after adjusting for inflation). That’s a huge gap of roughly $2,000—and it means the government is continuing to take big risks with the provincial budget.

Of course, if the government falls back into deficit there are implications for everyday Albertans.

When the government runs a deficit, it accumulates debt, which Albertans must pay to service. In 2024/25, the government’s debt interest payments will cost each Albertan nearly $650. That’s largely because, despite running surpluses over the last few years, Albertans are still paying for debt accumulated during the most recent string of deficits from 2008/09 to 2020/21 (excluding 2014/15), which only ended when the government enjoyed an unexpected windfall in resource revenue in 2021/22.

According to Thursday’s mid-year fiscal update, Alberta’s finances continue to be at risk. To avoid deficits, the Smith government should meaningfully reduce spending so that it’s aligned with more reliable, stable levels of revenue.