EDMONTON — The Alberta government has decided to continue testing for COVID-19 past Sept. 27 as the fourth wave continues to grow across the province.
On July 28, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced a series of changes to Alberta’s testing and isolation rules that would have ended widespread COVID-19 testing by Aug. 30.
After two weeks that saw Hinshaw apologize for the way she communicated the changes in an op-ed, as well as several protests and criticism toward the province, she reversed part of her decision on Aug. 13 and kept symptomatic testing until at least Sept. 27.
As of Friday, Sept. 3, Alberta had 13,495 active cases and 515 patients with COVID-19 in hospital, including 118 in ICU.
Four-hundred of the 515 people in hospital, or 78 per cent, have not received one dose of the vaccine.
With mounting cases and hospitalizations, and a slow vaccine uptick, Alberta has decided to continue to test for COVID-19 past its Sept. 27 deadline.
Alberta Health Director Chris Bourdeau told CTV News tests will remain available for people with COVID-19 symptoms, as well as workers and residents at specific outbreak sites.
Last Friday, Premier Jason Kenney, Health Minister Tyler Shandro and Hinshaw gave their first press conferences in weeks and announced some new restrictions, including masking in indoor spaces across the province, and an incentive of $100 for people to get vaccinated.
The province will report four days worth of COVID-19 data on Tuesday.
CALGARY — The Calgary Stampeders will have history on their side Monday when they host the Edmonton Elks.
Calgary (1-3) has won the last eight Labour Day showdowns against Edmonton (1-2). But that’s of little solace to Stampeders head coach Dave Dickenson.
“I don’t really worry about whether I’ve had success one place or not because it’s a new team, new year – weird year,” Dickenson said. “It’s still football, it’s still the Labour Day Classic.
“It’ll be an exciting game. Weather is supposed to be excellent, should be a great crowd, just a great environment to go out there and see which team is better.”
Unlike many previous years when Alberta’s two CFL clubs were sitting at or near the top of the West Division standings at this point in the season, both find themselves in need of a victory
“We’re just trying to focus on the game and we know the challenge that is ahead of us,” said Dickenson, whose team is coming off an 18-16 road loss to the defending Grey Cup-champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Aug. 29.
“The motivation is we both play in the West, so we’re both on the bottom of the standings right now and we understand that one of us has to climb out of that hole, maybe at the other team’s expense. So that’s where it’s at for me.”
Rookie Jake Maier will make a third straight start at quarterback for Calgary. Veteran Bo Levi Mitchell (fractured tibia) resumed practising this week after coming off the six-game injured list but will be on the one-game list for this contest.
“I’m learning more and more every day how much of a spectacle (the Labour Day Classic) is, not only to us and Edmonton, but just to the community and all the fans and the rich tradition behind it,” Maier said. “I understand the standard that we uphold here in Calgary when it comes to this game and this weekend.
“I’m looking forward to putting my best foot forward and really as a team build on what we did last week.”
Edmonton hasn’t played since a 21-16 win over B.C. on Aug. 19. The Elks were scheduled to play in Toronto on Aug. 26 but that game was postponed after the West Division club had COVID-19 issues.
The game with Toronto has since been rescheduled for Nov. 16.
Edmonton resumed practising Wednesday and head coach Jaime Elizondo praised his players for having a solid week of preparation.
“It’s like they don’t miss a beat,” said Elizondo, who added his players are eager to get back into action against the Stamps. “I think there’s a lot of excitement, edge. I think they’re so mentally in a good spot right now, all factors considered. They know what it’s about.
“At the same time and I’m a big believer in this, it’s Game 4 on our schedule. I don’t mean to minimize the Labour Day Classic. It’s a huge game. It’s a great environment, but at the end of the day, it’s Game 4 and when Game 4 ends, we’ll focus on Game 5.”
That game will be a rematch just five days later at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium.
“We want to go out there and get a win and follow it up the next week,” said fullback Calvin McCarty, who will make his Calgary debut Monday. “To win both, you’ve got to get the first one.
“The plan right now is to get this one and the next plan will to be go get that one as well. At the end of the day, it’s an in-province rivalry here in our stadium and we’ve got to take advantage.”
McCarty spent 13 seasons with Edmonton (2007-19) but came out of retirement to sign with Calgary this season.
“I’ve been playing football since I was six, seven years old,” McCarty said. “I still love it, man.
“It’s my passion. It’s in my DNA. To go out and have an opportunity to go through it after this long layoff, I’m excited. I’m hyped.”
Running back/returner Terry Williams will face his former team for the first time since signing with Edmonton in the off-season.
“I’m excited,” said Williams, who spent three seasons with the Stamps (2017-19). “This is very personal for me.
“Just going there and winning there at McMahon, it’s definitely always been challenging for other teams. I always knew that for other teams coming in.
“They’re going to be well coached. They’re going to play physical. They’re going to be ready to go. I think we’re going to do what we need to do. I think we’re prepared and I know that as a team we’re ready.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 5, 2021
VANCOUVER — Police near B.C.’s border with Alberta are investigating after a recreational vehicle rollover that killed a man Saturday night.
Elk Valley RCMP and the BC Coroners Service are both investigating the incident, which happened in the Newgate area on the west side of Lake Koocanusa, according to a news release from BC RCMP.
Officers were called to the scene of the incident around 11:50 p.m., along with paramedics and Fernie Search and Rescue crews, police said.
The initial investigation has found that an Alberta man was driving a “utility terrain vehicle” when it rolled in a body of water, police said.
The driver of the vehicle was not injured, but his passenger – also an Alberta man – died at the scene, according to police.
“Alcohol is believed to have been a contributing factor in the incident,” RCMP said in the release.
“The driver has been arrested and released to appear at a later date in a Fernie provincial court.”
EDMONTON — As the fourth wave of COVID-19 continues to surge in Alberta, some experts are suggesting taking a closer look at ventilation systems in schools and businesses to help prevent transmission.
Conor Ruzycki, a PhD candidate and Killiam Scholar, has studied airborne transmission of the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
“One thing that’s become very clear over the past several months is that airborne transmission of COVID-19 is a very important problem,” Ruzycki said.
He says evidence shows poor indoor ventilation can help spread the virus.
“If your sharing that space with somebody who has COVID-19, there’s a very high risk of transmission occurring,” Ruzycki added. “We can be inhaling aerosol that other people are emitting and if that person is sick with COVID-19, the aerosol that they’re emitting when they do any number of things like talk or even simply breathing, can produce (droplets).
“If we inhale that aerosol that contains virus, we can ourselves become infected.”
In the past week, the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) called on the province to review ventilation systems in commercial buildings and schools.
“Alberta has no expert body for ventilation and filtration,” APEGA tweeted on Thursday. “ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) sets ventilation standards in North America and has recognized that airborne transmission of COVID-19 is significant.
“We can reduce exposure by upgrading building heating, ventilation, and AC systems.”
“For them to come out and directly acknowledge airborne transmission is a very big step forward,” Ruzycki said. “I think that should really be quite a motivating factor for people to be taking this quite seriously.”
The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) renewed calls on the province to provide funding to school districts to aid in upgrading ventilation.
“Alberta’s elementary students are crammed into inadequately ventilated spaces, and the government is shirking its responsibility to offer the bare minimum protection (of masking) for those who cannot be vaccinated and their families,” ATA president Jason Schilling said on Friday.
Improving ventilation systems is one part of the ATA’s nine-point plan to ensure a safe return to in-person learning for the 2021-22 school year.
“Much of Alberta’s school HVAC infrastructure is fairly antiquated, and solutions such as opening windows and holding class outside will not be generally possible, given Alberta’s climate,” the plan says. “Consideration must be given to identifying technologies that facilitate air filtering and exchange that can be implemented in classrooms in short order.”
The ATA suggested using portable air cleaners with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters as a stop-gap measure.
Ruzycki said on top of re-evaluating ventilation systems, masking indoors helps limit the amount of aerosol spread.
On top of limiting the spread of COVID-19, upgrades to ventilation infrastructure would be a lasting investment that Ruzyki says would improve air quality.
“The issue of aerosols and disease transmission is something that we think happens with a lot of respiratory diseases, so really the benefits are not just short term here.”
