CAMROSE, Alta. – Premier Jason Kenney says the province is in a good spot in the fight against COVID-19, and he believes it’s time for media to stop promoting fear when it comes to the virus.
The premier was addressing his tweet from this past weekend which celebrated the success of the stampede—stating it was the first major event in Canada ‘after the pandemic’.
What a great Stampede! Such a joy to connect with Albertans during Canada’s first major event after the pandemic.
Thank you to everyone who made it possible – and see you next year! #calgarystampede2021 #OpenForSummer #yyc pic.twitter.com/H3O5HB2qSQ
— Jason Kenney ???????????????????????? (@jkenney) July 18, 2021
Many people, including several health experts, took issue with the Premier’s phrasing, they say we are not through with this virus yet.
READ MORE: Experts concerned over Alberta government’s comments about pandemic moving to ‘endemic’
“We are now three weeks into that full openness,” said the premier, referring to Alberta’s Open for Summer Plan. “And I’m very encouraged to see that we continue to do very well.”
While he acknowledges that the virus remains an issue, Kenney says there has been a dramatic drop in covid numbers, and it’s time we all start looking at where Alberta is when it comes to the fight against COVID-19.
https://twitter.com/TaylorBraat_/status/1418284141594890242
“Numbers will go up, and they’ll go down… What matters most is that the widespread protective effect of vaccines is real,” he said.
“We should embrace the science, we should stop listening to people who deny the powerful protective effect of vaccines.”
RELATED: Alberta identifies 81 new COVID-19 cases, active infections rise to 649
Kenney says Alberta crushed the third wave and, even when cases rise, the case numbers will likely not merit the same response as before.
“We have seen the numbers come down dramatically in Alberta, and we should salute that,” Kenney said.
“Let me be blunt, I think it’s time for media to stop promoting fear when it comes to COVID-19, and to start actually looking at where we’re at.”
According to the premier, we now have fewer people in hospital with COVID-19 than at any point in the past nine months. He adds that 75 per cent of eligible Albertans have gotten their first dose of vaccine, and within a week, he expects we’ll hit about 65 per cent of eligible people fully vaccinated.
“But most importantly, about 90 per cent of the vulnerable in Alberta, have been vaccinated–that is people over the age of 65–those are by far the most vulnerable individuals.”
The premier says these numbers mean our healthcare system likely won’t face the same capacity issues we’ve seen in the past, should COVID cases rise in the fall.
