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One year since COVID-19 declared a global pandemic

This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, orange, emerging from the surface of cells, gray, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. THE CANADIAN PRESS/NIAID-RML via AP

CALGARY (CityNews) – It’s been a long year for many across Canada and the world. As the world approaches the anniversary of the W.H.O. declaring COVID-19 a pandemic, CityNews is reflecting on some of the top stories that developed over the year.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, are marking Thursday’s one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring the spread of the novel coronavirus a pandemic.

Tam says it is time for remembering the lives lost, but it is also clear the work is not done.

She says Canadians must commit to sustaining their efforts until the crisis of COVID-19 is behind us.

Trudeau is calling on all Canadians to use the newly-created day of remembrance for those who died during the pandemic to remember and salute all who have sacrificed so much during the last year.

In Alberta, the first case was announced on Mar. 5, 2020.

WATCH: First presumptive case of COVID-19 in Alberta

Over the past year, Dr. Deena Hinshaw has been providing Albertans with regular updates on case counts, deaths and new health measures.

Hinshaw first provided an update on the novel coronavirus in late January 2020, saying, “The risk to Albertans is still considered to be low. There are no cases of the novel coronavirus in Alberta at this time.”

At the time of Hinshaw’s first update, Toronto had confirmed its first positive case of COVID-19.

A week later, Hinshaw and Health Minister Tyler Shandro urged Albertans who traveled to Hubei, China to stay home and isolate for 14 days, following the advice of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

RELATED: Jason Kenney speaks about the virus impacting the economy

First major outbreaks

The province’s first major outbreaks of COVID-19 were announced at the end of March and in April, at a Cargill meat processing plant near High River, the Harmony Beef Company meat processing facility in Balzac, and the JBS Canada meat processing facility in Brooks.

At the Cargill plant, an employee told 660 NEWS that PPE distribution was a huge issue.

Workers on the fabrication floor, where meat is cut and packaged, were supplied with hard hats, safety glasses, rubber and cotton gloves, steel toe boots, and ear protection. Blockers were placed between cutting tables however other areas, such as the meat sealing station, require more than one person with little space between the two workers. Meat cutters were using mesh gloves, aprons, and mesh sleeves as PPE.

Nearly a month after the initial outbreak and 350 cases linked to the Cargill plant, the plant temporarily shut its doors to try to control the spread of COVID-19.

READ MORE:

 

By mid-May, both Cargill and JBS had over 950 workers test positive for the novel coronavirus, with more cases linked to their families.

As the province was looking to move into a new phase of its first relaunch strategy, Premier Jason Kenney stated both Calgary and Brooks would see a more gradual reopening due to higher case numbers linked to the meatpacking plants.

“Together, they count for three-quarters of Alberta’s current COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.”

Since then, Alberta Health Services has stated that smaller outbreaks were declared at the Cargill plant in August and February.

In January 2021, the RCMP began an investigation into the death of a Cargill employee after receiving a complaint from a family member.

Masks

On Apr. 6, Tam said masks are a way for people who might unknowingly have COVID-19 to keep from spreading the illness.

WATCH: Non-medical masks can keep people COVID-19 from spreading it: Tam

Bylaws making masks mandatory would later come into effect in cities like Edmonton and Calgary.

The province would eventually go on to mandate masks more widely across Alberta.

Schools

One of the province’s first major updates was on Mar. 15. Hinshaw and Kenney announced the closure of all kindergarten to grade 12 classes, all post-secondary schools, and licensed daycares.

WATCH: COVID-19: Community transmission prompts K-12 and university class cancellations

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Shortly after the province’s announcement of school closures, teachers, parents, and students were left uncertain on the remainder of the 2019-20 school year.

A month and a half later, the Alberta government answered part of that concern, saying students would not return to classes for the remainder of the school year.

The closure also meant post-secondary institutions around the province had to say farewell to graduates differently in 2020.

READ MORE: Studies to look at how many teachers caught COVID-19, pandemic’s impact on educators

For all of Calgary’s universities and colleges, the restrictions on gatherings forced schools to alter their plans.

Restaurants and gyms

At the end of March 2020, Kenney announced dine-in restaurants and non-essential retail services such as clothing stores, gaming and electronic stores, and services in shopping malls were to be halted.

The announcement was the beginning of a long road for many businesses, as the province has gone through various reopening phases.

Calgary Stampede and K-Day

Heading into the summer season, it was clear that large gatherings of all types would not be possible.

On Apr. 23, the Stampede made the decision to cancel the 10-day event for the first time in its 107-year history. K-Days in Edmonton did the same.

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The 108th installment of the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth would be put off until 2021 at the earliest, and is currently selling tickets on its website.

There is some optimism that the Calgary staple could return this year thanks to mass vaccination efforts.

K-Days is also optimistic for the season and says at this point it plans to go ahead.

Looking ahead

Currently, the province is in stage 2 of its relaunch strategy for 2021.

Canada’s vaccine rollout has stepped up this month, after deliveries slowed to a trickle in February. Nearly a million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines were delivered last week, and 910,000 doses of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines are arriving this week.

It took Canada 67 days to vaccinate the first one million people. It should take less than one-third that time to vaccinate the second million.

As of noon Tuesday, more than 1.9 million Canadians had received at least one dose.

–with files from CityNews, 660 NEWS and The Canadian Press.