EDMONTON (660 NEWS) – Could a return to normal in Alberta be just a few weeks away?
That appears to be the case after Premier Jason Kenney announced in the legislature that the government doesn’t plan to renew the State of Public Health Emergency.
That measure is set to expire on June 15.
Kenney’s announcement came in response to a question about the Fair Deal Panel saying the UCP will release the report very soon.
“I am pleased to inform the house that the government will release the full Fair Deal Panel as soon as the State of Public Health Emergency abides and that will be on June 15 and the government doesn’t intend to renew the State of Public Health Emergency.”
"Normal" may be around the corner for #Alberta. @jkenney says he has no plans to renew the state of public health emergency. It was in response to a question on the Fair Deal Panel, Premier says his gov will release the report when emergency status ends June 15. #abpoli @660NEWS pic.twitter.com/xiEsyk1Gr8
— Saif Kaisar (@StaySaif) May 28, 2020
He believes the province can’t indefinitely force everyone to stay home, impacting their mental health, and the economy.
“We are learning more about this disease as we go through it and what we’re learning is that younger people, while not completely immune, have a mortality related to COVID that is no higher than their general mortality rate.”
In the debate regarding the COVID-19 response, Premier Kenney pointed out the average age of death from the virus in Alberta is 83, while the life expectancy in Alberta is 82.
This news comes as Alberta reported 25 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the total number of active cases to 679, its lowest number since March.
Regardless, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said we can’t let up.
“While this is often compared to Influenza, our current COVID-19 death toll of 142 in Alberta is one-and-a-half times higher than the highest annual Influenza death number in the last five years.”
Hinshaw added the province has never taken extreme measures to prevent Influenza and the onus is on all Albertans to continue to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
