Alberta looking at possible 'modest relaxation' of indoor gathering rules ahead of Christmas
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says meetings Thursday and next week will determine whether indoor private gathering rules will be eased ahead of Christmas.
"Albertans have been very patient, they got this fourth wave under control," Kenney said to journalists Wednesday.
"That's why we will be looking at some more potential modest relaxation of measures going towards Christmas, but we'll be looking at all the different data in making that decision."
Indoor social gatherings in Alberta are currently limited to two households, to a maximum of 10 vaccinated individuals. The limit does not apply to children under the age of 12.
Unvaccinated Albertans are not supposed to have any indoor gatherings at all, according to the rules updated in October. But the premier acknowledges that some people will just choose not to abide by the rules, whatever they are.
"You can have a hardcore lockdown on paper, but if nobody observes the rules, it doesn't matter at all," he said.
"That is why we've always tried to be mindful of the where the public is at in terms of their willingness broadly to comply with public health rules and guidelines."
IMPACTS OF THE OMICRON VARIANT
Just last week, Dr. Deena Hinshaw warned it was not the right time to ease gathering rules. Health officials across the globe are trying to determine what the impacts of the Omicron variant will have on health-care systems.
"Even though our numbers have come down from their peak, when it comes to hospital and ICU capacity, we need to make sure we’re looking very closely at our system capacity, potential impacts if there were to be increased transmission from easing measures," Dr. Hinshaw said on Tuesday.
Kenney says Alberta's cabinet committee that decides on rules and guidelines meets on Thursday and next Tuesday. At that point, more information on whether rules will be relaxed before Christmas will be released.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
For the first time in report's history, Canada's air quality worse than U.S.
Air quality in Canada is now worse than in the U.S., according to the 6th Annual World Air Quality Report. Of the 15 most polluted cities in the two countries, 14 were in Canada.
A newspaper says video of Prince William and Kate should halt royal rumour mill. That's a tall order
Prince William and his wife Catherine have been filmed at a farm shop near their Windsor home, The Sun newspaper reported -- the first footage of Kate since she had abdominal surgery for an unspecified condition two months ago.
BREAKING Roy McMurtry, former Ontario attorney general, dies at 91
CTV News has confirmed that former Ontario attorney general Roy McMurtry has died.
Hertz CEO out following electric car 'horror show'
The company, which announced in January it was selling 20,000 of the electric vehicles in its fleet, or about a third of the EVs it owned, is now replacing the CEO who helped build up that fleet, giving it the company’s fifth boss in just four years.
'You ask for your money, they disappear': Ontario man loses $17K to AI crypto scam
A Toronto man is spreading the word of a cryptocurrency scam that lures victims using AI-generated news sites after he lost $17,000 in investments.
DEVELOPING Canada's annual inflation rate ticked down to 2.8 per cent in February, defying expectations
Statistics Canada says the annual inflation rate edged down to 2.8 per cent in February.
High thoughts: The habits of Canadian cannabis users are revealed in a new StatCan report
Statistics Canada has conducted a series of surveys to measure the impacts of legalized cannabis since the Cannabis Act took effect in 2018. The latest one, the 2023 National Cannabis Survey, sheds light on users' preferences and habits last year.
Demand soars for solar eclipse glasses in Canada. Are they worth buying?
The demand for total solar eclipse glasses used to safely view the rare celestial event has been ramping up as sellers, along with astronomy and eye-care experts in Canada, warn that viewing the eclipse with the naked eye is dangerous.
Trump says Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and their religion
Former U.S. president Donald Trump on Monday charged that Jews who vote for Democrats 'hate Israel' and hate 'their religion,' igniting a firestorm of criticism from the White House and Jewish leaders.