Everything you need to know about COVID-19 in Alberta on Tuesday, March 9

The latest:

• Alberta's COVID-19 vaccination program is about to switch into a higher gear on Wednesday as the province prepares to widen the age-range of people eligible for a shot.
• Starting March 10 at 8 a.m.,Albertans born in1957 and First Nations, Mtis and Inuit born in 1972 can book the AstraZeneca/Covishield vaccine through AHS.
• Covishield, produced by the Serum Institute of India, was recently approved by Health Canada and is considered equivalent to AstraZeneca, Alberta Health Services said in a news release Tuesday.
• Those born between 1958 and 1971 will be offered chances to book vaccine appointments in the following days as long as supply lasts.
• As of March 9,the province says303,823doses of vaccine have been administered, and91,138Albertans have been fully immunized with twodoses.
• Alberta reported an estimated 255new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesdayas well as sixmore deaths.
• As of Monday, there were4,470active casesacross the province, a decrease of 163 from the day before.
• The province reported 263people were being treated in hospital for COVID-19,with 37people in intensive care beds.
• On Monday, 5,434coronavirustests were completed with a positivity rate of 4.7per cent.
• An additional 28variant cases were recorded, bringing the total to 687. Of those variantcases, almost all 674 arethe strain first identified in the U.K., and 13are 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.
• The next update from Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, is set for Wednesday.

• Health Minister Tyler Shandrosays the provincewill now move fully into Step 2 of the reopening, as hospitalizations have remainedbelow 450.
• Shandro saysall retail services and malls can host up to 25 per cent of fire code occupancy, not including staff.
• Youth, college and university athletic programs will now be able to have practices with a maximum of 10 people. 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.
• Shandro says any decisions on the province moving toStep 3of the reopening will be made on March 22at the earliest.
• Provincial officials are concernedthat two recent COVID-19 outbreaks at two Calgary-area high schools could be linked to indoor gatherings.

• Alberta said Thursday it wouldexpand its COVID-19 vaccine rollout to include people under age 75 starting March 15and, if shipments arriveas scheduled, all adults in the province will receive their first dose by the end of June.
• 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.
• Health Canada has approved the use of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in Canada, making it the fourth vaccine to be approved for use in Canada.The approval is expected to provide a significant boost to Canada's vaccine rollout.
• Hinshaw announced the province will join others in adopting the National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommendation to extend the period between the firstand second doses of COVID-19 vaccines.
• Friday markedthe one-year anniversarysince the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Alberta. Since that first case a year ago,133,202 other Albertans have tested positive for the virus. Nearly 2,000 Albertans have died.See graphics and video that dramatically illustrate how itforever changed the province, from remote communities to large workforces, here.

See which regions are being hit hardest

Here is thedetailed regional breakdownof active cases as of Monday:

• Calgary zone: 1,594,downfrom 1,608 (49,942recovered).
• Edmonton zone:1,182,downfrom 1,191 (52,334 recovered).
• North zone: 876,downfrom 960 (11,426 recovered).
• South zone: 368, up from367 (6,310 recovered).
• Central zone: 440, down from491 (9,872 recovered).
• Unknown: 10, downfrom 16 (94recovered).

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:

Alberta reports 6 more deaths, 255 new cases of COVID-19

Alberta reported six more COVID-19 deaths and 255 new cases on Tuesday as the governmentissued a reminder thatthenext group of eligible Albertans will be able to start booking COVID-19 immunizations Wednesday morning.

The two groups eligible toreceive the Covishield/AstraZeneca vaccine are Albertans born in 1957 and all First Nations, Mtis and Inuit people born in 1972.

People in those cohorts can bookimmunization appointments starting at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Albertans born in 1957 will be able to book appointments by using the AHS online booking tool or by calling Health Link at 811.

First Nations, Mtis and Inuit people born in 1972 will be able to book appointments only by calling 811.

Covishield, produced by the Serum Institute of India, was recently approved by Health Canada and is considered equivalent to AstraZeneca, Alberta Health Services said in a news release Tuesday.

Depending on vaccine supply, Albertans born between 1958 and 1971 will be offered the chance to book in the coming days, with the rollout expanding by one birth year at a time.

Alberta Health is recommending Covishield/AstraZeneca vaccine for people aged 18 to 64 who are less at risk of severe outcomes.The initial doses of will not be available at pharmacies, the news release said.

AHS said theonline tool and 811 have the combined capacity to book approximately 5,000 appointments an hour.

Alberta eases more COVID-19 restrictions, completes Step 2 of reopening plan

Retails stores and malls will be allowed increase their capacity to 25 per cent of fire code, and youth sports teams and activities will be allowed to resume with up to 10 participants, Alberta's health minister announced Monday.

Tyler Shandro said with case counts and positivity rates continuing to decline, along with deaths and hospitalizations, it is now safe for the province to complete Step 2 of its reopening plan.

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 situation is changing and we need to change along with it," Shandro said Monday at a news conference. "We said that we'd complete Step 2 when it was safe to do so, and I believe that it now is.

"The time is right to keep moving safely forward, and at the same timethere are reasons for us to remain cautious. We're not seeing the same sharp decline in cases that we saw in December. Cases have plateaued. And we still have to consider carefully how to get the balance right. But I believe that this step, the remainder of Step 2 today, is safe," he said.

"Just last week I announced that we should be able to offer every Albertans a first dose by June 30, and that changes the whole picture here in Alberta."

Effective immediately, the province will complete Step 2 by easingmore restrictions, Shandro said.

Indoor gatherings may have caused COVID-19 outbreaks at 2 Calgary schools

Provincial officials are concernedthat two recent COVID-19 outbreaks at Calgary-area high schools could be linked to indoor gatherings.

Last week, an outbreak declared at Cochrane's Bow Valley High school had 16 confirmed casesof COVID-19 which put more than half of its students and teachers in isolation.

Rocky View Schools told CBC News in an email last week that since a majority of students are able to attend class and they have enoughsubstitute teachers, the school will remain open.

On Friday,BownessHigh Schoolin Calgary announcedan outbreak whichshifted around 1,184 students in grades 10-12 to online learning.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, says one concern that hasbeen raised is that these two outbreaks mighthave been started because of large indoor gatherings.

"Remember that your actions don't just impact you, they impact those around you. And again, not just your immediate circle, but there is a knock-on effect of transmission that flows through all of our networks if we're not cautious," she said at a COVID-19 briefing on Monday.

Province plans to give all adults their first doses by the end of June

Alberta will expand its COVID-19 vaccine rollout to include people under age 75 starting March 15, and if shipments arriveas scheduled, all adults in the province will receive their first dose by the end of June, the health minister says.

"By June 30, we expect to have offered every single adult in the province at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine,"Health Minister Tyler Shandro said Thursday at a news conference.

Alberta expands COVID-19 vaccine rollout

4 years ago

Duration 0:52

Alberta Health Minister Tyler Shandro said on Thursday that if vaccine shipments arrive as scheduled, all adults in the province will receive their first dose by the end of June.

Under the expandingvaccine program set to begin in less than two weeks, about 437,000 more peoplebetween the ages of 65 and 74 will become eligible for inoculations, Shandro said.

To avoid long delays for those making appointments, when Phase 2A begins on March 15 bookings will beoffered in two-year age groups, Shandro said.

On the first day, anyone aged 73 or 74 will be able to book.

On the second day, eligibility will be expandedto include anyone aged71 to 72, and so on from there.

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

Calgary brings back more widened pathways

Calgary expandeditsAdaptive Roadways Programto include more roads on Saturdayin order to provide more space for residents to physically distance as the weather warms.

The program was first introducedlast year as more people spent time outdoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. City pathways were widened by closing certain roads and parking lanes to motor vehicles.

On March. 6the cityclosedtwo eastbound lanes on Memorial Drive between Ninth Street N.W.

The city also closedthe entire lower deckof theCentre Street bridge between Riverfront Avenue S.E. and Memorial Drive N.W.

"What we're trying to do is really target areas that are super congested. And certainly we saw in Eau Clairethe pathway system was packed last weekend," said Ward 7 Coun. Druh Farrell on theCalgary Eyeopener.

Other roadways alreadywidened include:

• Riverfront Avenue S.E. The westbound parking lane is closed between FourthStreetand FirstStreetS.E.
• Crescent Road N.W. The parking lane is closed going east between 7A Street N.W. and FirstStreet S.E.
• 12th Street S.E.The parking lanegoing southis closed between EighthAvenue and 21st Avenue S.E.

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