New COVID-19 variant posing new questions about public health, individual decisions
Many Albertans seem to be taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the latest COVID-19 variant in the province.
Four cases of the new Omicron strain have been confirmed by government officials to CTV News. The highly-transmissible "Kraken" strain is becoming dominant in many countries, and some experts suspect Canada won't be far behind.
But at the Calgary International Airport, that doesn't appear to have changed the behaviour of many travellers.
Masks were few and far between Thursday afternoon and many of those jet-setting said they won't don a face covering unless it's "absolutely necessary."
Some experts think that time is closing in.
"If we could delay (the strain's dominance) until spring, we would be in such a better place," biologist Gosia Gasperowicz said. "And we could do much, much more."
Gasperowicz is just one voice currently calling for new public health measures to help fend off the variant.
"We could put mask requirements for everybody in public places, in schools and hospitals and so on, because we know that works," she told CTV News. "The other things we can do is putting HEPA air purifiers in public places, because they reduce aerosols in the air -- especially in enclosed spaces."
Alberta Health is expected to release updated COVID-19 data on Friday.
There is no indication Alberta will go down that path under Premier Danielle Smith.
A statement from her health minister's office Thursday touched on the unpredictability of the "Kraken" strain and echoed the messaging from many doctors: so much is still unknown about the latest variant and what its severity could do to care facilities.
"The vast majority of Albertans and Canadians have been infected with Omicron, as shown by seroprevalence data," a statement from spokesperson Steve Buick said. "COVID is certainly still putting pressure on the hospitals, but proportionally, the impact is far less than before.
"That does not mean we're at no risk: just less risk."
Alberta Health is expected to release updated COVID-19 data on Friday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States, injuring at least three people.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.