Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Thursday, March 11

The latest:

• Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health,announced at a news conference on Thursday that the province will speed up rollout of theCovishield/AstraZeneca vaccine.
• Starting 8 a.m. Friday, Albertans born in 1959 or 1960 will be added to the list of those who can book appointments.
• Alberta Health is recommending AstraZeneca/Covishield vaccine for people aged 18 to 64 if they do not have a severe chronic illness.The initial doses of will not be available at pharmacies, the news release said.
• AHStold CBC News onThursday morning that over21,000Albertanshad already bookedAstraZeneca/Covishieldshots.
• AHSrecommends that Albertans book their appointment using the online booking tool wherever possible.
• Covishield, produced by the Serum Institute of India, was recently approved by Health Canada and is considered equivalent to AstraZeneca, Alberta Health Services said Tuesday.
• The next update from Hinshawis set for Friday at 3:30 p.m. CBC Edmonton and Calgary will carry it live on the websites and Facebook.
• The province reported 364new cases of COVID-19 Thursday and five more deaths.
• There were 4,488active casesacross the province, a decrease of 25 from the day before.
• The province reported 259people were being treated in hospital for COVID-19,with 38people in intensive care beds.
• 10,200coronavirustests were completed with a positivity rate of about fourper cent.
• An additional 41variant cases were recorded, bringing the total to 775. Of those variantcases, almost all 760 arethe strain first identified in the U.K., and 15 are the strain first identified in South Africa.
• Alberta's R-value is 0.95.An R-value below 1.0 means the rate of transmission was decreasing during that period.

• Two Calgary schools will be getting rapid COVID-19 testing pilot projects.
• It's expected that one Calgary Board of Education school and one Calgary Catholic School District school will participate in the pilot.

• As of Thursday,the province said317,574doses of vaccine had been administered, and91,366Albertans have been fully immunized with twodoses.
• Ifshipments arriveas scheduled, the province says all adults in the province will receive their first dose by the end of June.
• A batch of AstraZeneca vaccine under investigation by international health authorities for possible links to blood clots is not part of Alberta's supply.
• Dr. Hinshawissued a statement Thursday assuring Albertans that doses being administered in the province are safe.
• Vaccinations for those 75 and older(born in 1946 or earlier) are available at 102 community pharmacies in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer as well as at the AHS sites. A list of participating pharmacies is available on the Alberta Blue Cross website.
• AHS began operating a vaccination site at the Genesis Centre in Martindale in northeast Calgary on Thursday, making it the 24th immunization site operated by the province in the Calgary Zone.AHS has 116 immunization sites across the province and there are dozens of pharmacies in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer also participating in the vaccine rollout.

• The Alberta government announced Monday that the province could step fully into Step 2 of reopening, as hospitalizations have remainedbelow 450.
• Retailstores and malls will be allowed to increase their capacity to 25 per cent of fire code occupancy, and youth sports teams and activities are allowed to resume with up to 10 participants. Masks and physical distancing arestill required.
• Restrictions are also being eased for child, youth and adult performances, includingsinging, theatre and playing wind instruments, though participants must follow the same restrictions as for youth sports.
• Banquet halls, community hall and hotels can now host permitted performance activities, wedding ceremonies with up to 10 people, and funeral services with up to 20.

Alberta loosens restrictions slightly as COVID-19 cases continue to fall

4 years ago

Duration 1:16

With COVID-19 case numbers continuing to fall in Alberta, the province has decided to loosen a few more restrictions under Step 2 of its reopening plan, says Health Minister Tyler Shandro.

• The province says any decisions on the province moving toStep 3of the reopening will be made on March 22at the earliest.
• GraceLife Church in Parkland County has been charged "as an entity" for exceeding allowable capacity at Sunday services in February, Parkland RCMP said Wednesday.

See which regions are being hit hardest

Here is thedetailed regional breakdownof active cases as reported Thursday by the province:

• Calgary zone: 1,654, up from 1,623 (50,159 recovered).
• Edmonton zone:1,147, downfrom 1,156 (52,524 recovered).
• North zone: 813,downfrom 836 (11,612 recovered).
• South zone: 438, up from396 (6,350 recovered).
• Central zone: 431, down from 440 (9,978 recovered).
• Unknown: 5, down from 12 (93 recovered).

Find out which neighbourhoods or communities have the most cases, how hard people of different ages have been hit, the ages of people in hospital, how Alberta compares to other provinces and more in: Here are the latest COVID-19 statistics for Alberta and what they mean

You can see active cases by local health area on the following interactive map. Scroll, zoom and click on the map for more information.

Here are the latest Alberta COVID-19 stories:

Rapid testing pilot coming to Calgary schools

Two Calgary schools will be getting rapid COVID-19 testing pilot projects.

At a press conference held Thursday, Alberta's education ministerAdriana LaGrange said the pilot will launch as early as next week at schools experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks.

"A testing team will be set up at two Calgary schools to screen students and staff who do not have symptoms,"LaGrange said.

"They will offer testing again the week after and may follow up by a third round of screening."

The specific locations have not yet been selected, according to the province.

For more, see:Rapid testing pilot coming to Calgary schools

Province announces AstraZeneca vaccine rollout will speed up

Dr. Deena Hinshaw,Alberta'schief medical officer of health, announced at a news conference on Thursday that the province will speed up rollout of theCovishield/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Starting 8 a.m. Friday, Albertans born in 1959 or 1960 will be added to the list of those who can book appointments.

That means allAlbertans born from 1957 to 1960 will be able to book immunization appointments using the AHS online booking tool or by calling Health Link at 811.

First Nations, Mtis and Inuit people born in1972 to 1975will be able to book their appointments by calling the AHS 811 line.

Additional shipments of the vaccine are expected to arrive in the province next week.Albertans who become eligible will never lose their eligibility, the province has said.

Foranswers to questions people may have as it becomes increasingly tempting to throw caution(and masks)to the wind, see:The number of Albertans fully immunized against COVID-19 is growing. Now what?

Variants now make up 9 per cent of all cases in Alberta

Alberta reported47 new cases of variants of concern in Wednesday's case count, bringing the provincial total to734 variant cases.

That means variants now make up nine per cent of active cases of COVID-19 in the province, a rise from three per cent in late January.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw,Alberta's chief medical officer of health, said other jurisdictions have seen a much more rapid growth in variants in recent weeks.

"[Other jurisdictions have seen] variants of concern as a proportion of all COVID cases going from three to four per cent to well over half of all cases in just six weeks," Hinshaw said.

"This means that our health measures both the overall restrictions as well as the targeted measures for variant cases are working to slow the growth, and if we continue to work together we can continue to limit the spread."

The province reported 399 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday and two more deaths.

For more, see:Alberta reports 399 new cases of COVID-19 and two more deaths

10,000 newly eligible Albertans book shots in hours as AstraZeneca vaccinations launch

Starting Wednesday at 8 a.m., all Albertans turning 64 this year those born in 1957 could start booking their AstraZeneca vaccine through Alberta Health Service'sonline booking portal or by calling Health Link at 811.

As well, First Nations, Mtisand Inuit people aged 49 (born in 1972) could book vaccines through Health Link only.

Alberta Health Services clarified over the noon hour that Albertans born in 1958-1971 would be the next group to be offered a chance to book in the coming days.

It said it would outline what age groups were next in coming days.

The province is expecting 58,500 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine this week andmore doses next week..

• When and how you can book a COVID-19 vaccination, as Alberta opens up the age range

More than 10,000 Albertanshad booked shots by about 12:30 p.m.on Wednesday, AHS tweeted, sayingcall volumes to 811 had been high.

"We continue to see high call volumes to Health Link 811 and recommend booking appointments using the online booking tool wherever possible," AHS tweeted.

"We are asking only those born in 1957 to visit the booking tool today. You will need to provide proof of age at your immunization appointment."

Pharmacies are not yet carrying the AstraZeneca vaccine whichwill be given in two doses about 16 weeks apart.

Health Canada approved the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and the Serum Institute of India's version called Covishield last month.

For more, see:10,000 newly eligible Albertans book shots in hours as AstraZeneca vaccinations launch

GraceLife Church facing charges under Public Health Act

GraceLife Church in Parkland County has been charged "as an entity" for exceeding allowable capacity at Sunday services in February, Parkland RCMP said Wednesday.

The church was charged for exceeding the 15 per cent allowable capacity for services on Feb. 21 and Feb. 28, contrary to Section 73(1) of the Public Health Act, RCMP said in a news release.

Legal counsel for the church was served March 4 with a summons to attend Stony Plain provincial court on May 5, police said.

The church was again over its allowable capacity at a service March 7, RCMP said.

RCMP were in attendance tohelpAlberta Health Services with its investigation into the church and its activities. Officers did not go inside the building, police said.

RCMP said they would offer no further comment on the charges announced Wednesday and said the investigation is continuing.

For more, see:GraceLife Church facing charges under Public Health Act

From remote communities to large workforces, the pandemic has forever changed the province

It was inevitable, the premier said.

Though there were only dozens of cases of thecoronavirus SARS-CoV-2 reported in Canada, health officials were resigned that the pandemic would eventually spread into Alberta.

A news bulletin went out in the late afternoon March 5, with few details aside from confirmation that a presumptive case had been confirmed.

Less than an hour later, the province's chief medical officer of health took to the podium.

"Uh, you all know, my name is Dr. Deena Hinshaw," she said. "I'm here, as you know, to provide an update on COVID-19 in Alberta."

Hinshaw went on to provide more details: the presumptive case was a woman in her 50s who had been on board the Grand Princess cruise ship,which was quarantined off the coast of California.

Nearly a year later, Hinshawneeded to introduce herself to Albertans no longer she had become a fixture when it came to herdaily updates on cases, hospitalizations, outbreaks and deaths.

For more, see:These graphics show just how deeply COVID-19 has infiltrated Alberta

• For the latest on what's happening in the rest of Canada and around the world, seehere.