Canada COVID-19 Update: Alberta reaches 500 deaths | 1,265 new cases | Calgary declares local state of emergency

18:05 26 november 2020

18:05 26 november 2020 Source: calgaryherald.com

Canada’s coronavirus cases exceed 300,000

It comes just shy of a month after Canada hit 200,000 cases nationally. Read more: Tam says Canada on track for 10K daily coronavirus cases Ontario and Quebec -- Canada's long-standing coronavirus hotspots -- both recorded significant case counts on Monday, despite seeing declines in daily tallies on Sunday. Ontario reported 1,487 new confirmed cases, along with 10 additional deaths. Quebec reported 1,218 cases and 25 deaths.

a person talking on a cell phone: Brooke Stoilen walks to City Hall as Calgary declared a local state of emergency in on Wednesday, November 25, 2020.

With news on COVID-19 happening rapidly, we’ve created this page to bring you our latest stories and information on the outbreak in and around Calgary.

What’s happening now

The province reported 1,265 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and nine new deaths. Alberta reached the tragic milestone of 500 deaths.
Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Wednesday the province is readying 400 more ICU beds to handle the expected growth in serious infections.
Calgary restored its local state of emergency on Wednesday.
Premier Jason Kenney declared a state of public health emergency while announcing new mandatory restrictions on social gatherings, worship services, businesses and schools.
Students in grades 7 to 12 will move to online learning on Nov. 30 as part of changes to the school calendar to help limit the spread of the virus.
AstraZeneca said on Monday its COVID-19 vaccine could be around 90 per cent effective, giving the world’s fight against the global pandemic a new weapon, cheaper to make, easier to distribute and faster to scale-up than rivals.

How have you been impacted by COVID-19?

Postmedia is looking to speak with people who may have been impacted by the growing second wave of COVID-19 here in Alberta. Do you have a family member affected by a long term care outbreak? Are you having trouble meeting work obligations due to school shutdowns? Send us an email at reply@calgaryherald.com to tell us your experience, or send us a message via this form .

Coronavirus live updates: Quebec reports 982 new cases, 24 deaths as hospitalizations soar

Check this post throughout the day on Tuesday, Nov. 17. Questions/comments: ariga@postmedia.com Top updates Quebec reports 982 new cases, 24 deaths as hospitalizations soar Flu season in Canada ‘exceptionally low’ so far, public health says Quebecers most likely to download COVID Alert app, poll shows Will Canada be getting a COVID-19 vaccine soon? Outbreaks forcing seniors’ centres to share contract workers Sign up for our free nightly coronavirus newsletter 12:05 p.m. Dolly Parton helped fund Moderna vaccine Dolly Parton was one of the major funders for Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, which has proved to be nearly 95 percent effective in early data https://t.

Chris Selley: Will unvaccinated Canadians finally hold their governments to account?

a group of people standing next to a truck: Employees bottle a potential COVID vaccine in Germany. It seems Canadians are nowhere near the front of the line for COVID-19 vaccines.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is quite obviously softening Canadians up for a blow: As early as next month, and for several months thereafter, they are likely to see millions of people around the world being vaccinated against COVID-19. And for quite a while, none of them will be Canadian.

“One of the things to remember is Canada no longer has any domestic production capacity for vaccines,” Trudeau said at his Tuesday news conference. “Countries like the United States, Germany and the U.K. do have domestic pharmaceutical facilities, which is why they’re obviously going to prioritize helping their citizens first.”

COVID-19 Update: Trudeau to address Canadians this morning | 1,105 new cases, eight deaths | STARS transporting more COVID patients

With news on COVID-19 happening rapidly, we’ve created this page to bring you our latest stories and information on the outbreak in and around Calgary. What’s happening now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will speak to the nation from outside his home at 9:30 MST. The province reported Thursday 1,105 new cases of COVID-19 and eight additional deaths. There are 10,382 active cases in Alberta. A Calgary company has developed a COVID-19 test which speeds up results so significantly it could allow Alberta Health Services to increase capacity from 12,000 to about 100,000 tests a day.

America celebrates scaled-back Thanksgiving as COVID-19 surges

a bowl filled with different types of food on a table: Americans have been urged to curtail their family gatherings in the wake of COVID-19.

Americans awoke on Thursday to celebrate a Thanksgiving Day transformed by the coronavirus pandemic, with the Macy’s parade limited to a television-only event and many families resigned to meeting on video for turkey dinner.

Thanksgiving, normally a day for family and friends to gather in big numbers to feast and remember life’s blessings, has been upended by the pandemic, with cases and deaths surging in recent weeks as cooler temperatures push people indoors where the virus spreads more easily.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York, a spectacle of giant character balloons that has delighted children for nearly a century, has been scaled back significantly. The route is a block long, rather than 2.5 miles; balloon handlers have been replaced by specially rigged vehicles; and spectators will not be allowed to line the streets as before.

Hundreds of Alberta doctors sign 3rd letter urging lockdown

Addressed to Premier Jason Kenney, Health Minister Tyler Shandro and Chief Medical Officer of Heath Dr. Deena Hinshaw, the letter has been signed by 341 physicians so far, and strongly recommends a second lockdown. Hundreds of Alberta doctors are saying the province's health-care system has already crossed the brink of disaster, and are urging officials to act swiftly with more restrictions to prevent further spread of COVID-19. A lockdown was strongly recommended in a letter signed by 341 physicians and addressed to Premier Jason Kenney, Health Minister Tyler Shandro and Chief Medical Officer of Heath Dr.

Town of Banff declares state of local emergency

a group of people walking down a street: Visitors wait in long lineups outside The Spirit of Christmas shop on Banff Avenue on Saturday, Nov. 21.

After a lengthy special meeting of town council, the Town of Banff declared a state of local emergency on Wednesday evening.

“In times of crisis, you need to take extraordinary measures – and this is certainly a dire situation for the people of Banff,” said Mayor Karen Sorensen. “Our region – Banff and Lake Louise – has the second-highest number of cases per capita in Alberta.”

The mayor said declaring a state of local emergency will allow the town to reallocate resources and be more nimble in its response to a rapidly changing situation.

The Town of Banff has declared a State of Local Emergency to supplement measures enacted by the Province under the Public Health Emergency, to help stop the rapid spread of COVID-19 in #Banff. pic.twitter.com/OhsEexi0Rw
— Banff Town (@Banff_Town) November 26, 2020

It will also signal to visitors that the risk of transmission has increased in the small town.

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“For visitors, they need to be aware of the high risk of transmission here,” said Sorensen. “For residents and businesses, they need to know we are here for them, but we also need them to double-down on the measures that will stamp out COVID in Banff.”

Town officials are still in discussions about making changes to the mandatory mask bylaw, and limiting operating hours of restaurants, liquor stores and cannabis shops. The town may also limit restaurant occupancy. More details are expected on Nov. 30.

27 Calgary schools on ‘watch’ with five or more cases

a train is parked on the side of a snow covered street: St. Francis High School on Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. The school is dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak.

There are 27 Calgary schools currently under the province’s “watch” status with five or more cases of COVID-19, according to the government’s COVID-19 school status map .

As older students prepare to move to online learning at the end of the month as part of the government’s measures to reduce the spread of the virus announced on Tuesday, 18 of the Calgary schools under “watch” are junior high or high schools, while three are middle schools that teach kids up to Grade 9, one is a K-12 school and only five of the schools under “watch” are elementary schools.

Of the 37 Calgary schools on outbreak with two to four cases, only 12 are exclusively elementary schools, while the remaining 25 include some students in grades 7 to 12.

Michigan State turns Big Ten race upside down with upset of No. 12 Northwestern

Michigan State got a late field goal from Matt Coghlin to upset No. 12 Northwestern and shake up to the Big Ten race with Ohio State in doubt.A flailing run game matched up against one of the nation’s best defenses? Doesn’t matter.

Alberta chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said Wednesday that there are active alerts or outbreaks in 15 per cent of schools in Alberta with 1,207 active cases of COVID-19 in those schools.

She said of those schools, 179 are dealing with outbreaks of two or more cases and 71 are on the province’s “watch” list with five or more cases.

Hinshaw took time to thank parents, guardians, students, teachers and school staff for their efforts during the pandemic.

“I know that there has been a burden on parents this year to keep kids home even with mild illness and to arrange for kids to stay home if an exposure has taken place in their class,” Hinshaw added.

There have been 859 schools in Alberta that have reported at least one case of COVID-19 since the beginning of the school year, according to advocacy group Support Our Students’ COVID-19 tracker , and there have been 563 schools that have reported a case in the last two weeks.

Related: Older students victims of ‘bad planning’ as classrooms close next Monday, says advocate