Kenney unconcerned by rise in COVID-19 cases, encourages Albertans to seek booster shots

Premier Jason Kenney says Alberta will see future waves of COVID-19 but has the confidence that protections are in place for residents and the province's health-care system.

He also added the province will not see the sort of public health restrictions that have disrupted the lives and livelihoods of Albertans for the past two years of the pandemic.

"We can fully expect future waves – that's a certainty – but the experience of other jurisdictions around the world that have been hit by this BA.2 wave of Omicron is that it has not overwhelmed their hospitals and none of them have brought back public health restrictions, at least not in Europe."

Kenney said those countries are similar to Alberta in terms of vaccination and natural immunity, so he's sure the province will be able to weather future waves.

"Population protection continues to grow and the severity of these variants continues to decline."

Kenney's comments come as the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) warns of a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in Canada, something that was not unexpected by experts.

Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam says all Canadians need to think about keeping the layers of public health measures in place in order to reduce transmission and any future strain on the health-care system.

The current "realistic scenario" forecasts that over the long-term the virus will continue to transmit at a "low-moderate level," and future variants will emerge and potentially impact case counts and severe outcomes.

Overall, though, the federal health agency says the situation is "expected to be manageable for health systems without the need for restrictive public health measures."

BOOSTER SHOTS IMPORTANT

With more than 86 per cent of Alberta's population 12 years and older having two doses, Alberta's protection plan has shifted to the distribution of booster shots.

According to the latest data available, 36.4 per cent or 1,610,588 Albertans have received a third dose.

"The most important thing people could do, to protect themselves from this and any future waves would be to get a booster shot," Kenney said.

In the meantime, the province will be continuing its wastewater testing, with Kenney calling it "a great early warning data point."

"We will continue to fund that for the indefinite future."

Kenney also said they are continuing to use that data to form their plans about Stage 3, which is dependent on hospitalizations and will lift all other public health measures, including a mandatory requirement for active COVID-19 cases to isolate.

With knowledge about an upcoming fourth wave, Kenney says he is in no rush to remove the last of Alberta's restrictions.

"Those are relatively modest and sensible restrictions that focus on the most vulnerable. Those will remain in place for the indefinite future and we have no plans to lift those."

(With files from CTVNews.ca)