Latest round of COVID-19 restrictions in Alberta not enough to curb spread, says local infectious disease expert

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Alberta’s latest round of COVID-19 restrictions are too little, too late, says an infectious disease expert at the University of Alberta.

On Thursday, Premier Jason Kenney announced new restrictions in “hot spots” where there are at least 350 cases per 100,000 people and more than 250 cases total. Students in grades 7-12 in these areas will move to online learning Monday. Indoor fitness and sport activities were banned as of Friday.

In Alberta’s two largest cities, Edmonton and Calgary, the latest restrictions come after public and Catholic school boards in both municipalities had already sent junior and senior high school students home. All schools in Fort McMurray have shifted to online learning. For gyms and other indoor fitness studios, they were only allowed to open to clients in one-on-one fitness sessions with an instructor.

Kenney’s announcement came on the day Alberta recorded its highest ever single day case count with 2,048 reported on Thursday. The province had 21,385 active cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, also an all-time high.

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Dr. Stephanie Smith, an associate professor and infectious disease expert at the University of Alberta, says that while the new measures will affect many people trying to make a living, they most likely won’t be effective at curbing rising case rates.

“I think the restrictions that were put in place were fairly minimal,” said Smith. “Truthfully, it’s not going to have a significant impact on case numbers.”

She said the province should have done a much more comprehensive lockdown two to three weeks ago when cases were beginning to climb.

“It’s this dragging things out that I think is really quite damaging to everyone’s mental, physical and financial health,” said Smith.

Alberta Health spokesman Tom McMillan said the rising spread in Alberta is not linked to any one sector and a layered approach is needed to bring case counts down.

“The restrictions announced are meant to work together to reduce the risk of transmission and bend down the curve,” said McMillan.

Prior to Thursday’s announcements the province was under restrictions around dining out as well as capacity limits on retail stores. Indoor social gatherings are prohibited.

The Opposition NDP echoed Smith’s statements Friday. MLA Shannon Phillips, who represents Lethbridge-West, said she requested additional supports in March in response to a regional outbreak in southern Alberta and said very little was done in response.

“This was all very preventable and predictable. If Jason Kenney had taken the precautions that we described to him, had taken some of our advice, in schools in particular, but across the province in a number of different ways, including paid sick leave, we would not be in this situation,” said Phillips.

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With older students in hot spots heading online, the NDP called for an online learning fund that would see families who’ve had children spend at least two months learning online receive financial compensation.

Kenney has said on multiple occasions throughout the pandemic that he believes restrictions should be implemented only when necessary, citing the effects they have on people’s businesses and livelihoods. On Thursday, he reiterated this stance.

“We view restrictions, that can have a real damaging effect on our broader social health, as a last and limited resort. I have been clear from Day 1 that Alberta’s approach is not indiscriminately to damage people’s lives and livelihoods,” said Kenney. “But, rather to seek a balance between the protection of lives, to avoid large-scale preventable deaths, to protect our health-care system, while minimizing the negative impact of restrictions on our broader society.”

He said the latest restrictions will help buy time for more people to receive vaccines without punishing areas of the province that are less affected.

No curfews implemented in Alberta

If any area of the province reaches 1,000 cases per 100,000 people, a curfew may by implemented, Kenney announced Thursday. Jerrica Goodwin, spokeswoman for the premier’s office, said a municipality would need to request a curfew if they reached the threshold.

Currently, Fort McMurray and the surrounding Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo (RMWB) is eligible for a curfew, sitting at 1,591.5 per 100,000. On Friday, the RMWB said it had not requested a a curfew.

McMillan said Alberta Health has not received any official requests for curfews.

dshort@postmedia.com

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