EDMONTON (660 NEWS) – Alberta is to begin loosening COVID-19 restrictions within the province following the latest update.
As of Jan. 18, personal and wellness services will be open to appointments. This includes hair salons, barbers, tattoo parlours and more.
“Today, we can’t entirely ease up on this goal but we can make small adjustments to provide Albertans with some limited activities,” Health Minister Tyler Shandro said.
BREAKING:
Alberta announces loosening outdoor social gatherings on Jan 18.
10 people can now gather outdoor while following guidelines (social distancing, masks, no indoor facilities)
Indoor gatherings still not allowed. #yeg #yyc #ableg #covid19ab
— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) January 14, 2021
Additionally, Albertans can once again gather outside while following social distancing guidelines and masking policies. A total of 10 people can gather, but only outside.
Funerals within the province can now have 20 attendees, however, receptions are still not allowed.
There was no mention of changes coming to restaurant and bar restrictions.
“Albertans have done a good job of staying the course and abiding by public health measures, but we are still seeing high hospitalizations and case numbers, and this continues to put a serious strain on our health-care system,” Shandro added in a release.
“How much further we can ease restrictions depends on our collective efforts over the coming days and weeks to limit the spread of the virus.”
In addition to the update, the latest numbers were released for the province.
There were 967 new cases of COVId-19 discovered along with 21 additional deaths.
There have been 1,389 total deaths in the province.
Latest COVID-19 numbers for Alberta:
– 967 new cases
– 21 new deaths (total 1,389)
– 16,000 tests completed (PR: 5.8 per cent)
– 806 in hospital, 136 in ICU— Jeff Slack (@Jeffslack660) January 14, 2021
A total of 16,000 tests were completed, with an infection rate of 5.8 per cent.
There are currently 806 Albertans in hospital struggling with the virus and 136 in ICU.
“Although we’ve seen a decline in transmission, our health-care system is still at risk. We must remain diligent in our efforts to bring our numbers down even further,” Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said.
“By easing some measures like outdoor gathering limits, we hope to support Albertans’ mental health, while still following other restrictions that are helping us reduce case numbers.”
