CALGARY (660 NEWS) – Could Alberta’s COVID-19 restrictions be eased by the summer?
Premier Jason Kenney is optimistic that may happen after providing an update on the vaccine rollout during a Facebook live session Wednesday.
Kenney discussed plans for vaccines over the next few months, adding it could be as early as May when the province would allow the general population to get their COVID-19 shot.
“I really don’t believe there will be the need for significant restrictions much after Canada Day,” Kenney said. “There will have to be some in the third quarter of this year as we continue to build up more and more immunity.”
WATCH: No new restrictions before long weekend, as Kenney says we’re losing against variants
However, Kenney did stress that the possible relaxing of those rules is contingent on case numbers and hospitalizations, which have been climbing in the past several weeks.
There are currently over 18,000 active cases in the province, 59 per cent of those are variants of concern with 476 people in hospital.
“It’s really the next month that we need to get through. Don’t hold me to this date exactly but by roughly the end of May, the vaccines will have such a wide effect that COVID will start hitting the wall of vaccinated people.”
During another Facebook live session in March, the Premier said he’s optimistic about having summer events but we need to maintain the current pace of vaccinations to get to a point where we have a risk tolerance high enough to hold those festivals and larger gatherings.
“I would not be surprised if there are some limitations on crowd sizes, on proximity, on things like that. I still have a hard time getting around in my mind how we can have 25, 30,000 people sitting cheek to jowl next to each other in that stands at the Stampede.”
Kenney added there is a working group involving summer events organizers who are working with public health officials to develop recommendations on safely holding large events.
As of Tuesday, over 1.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in Alberta with nearly 245,000 people fully immunized.
The province still anticipates that all adults who wish to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine can do so by the end of June.
